Retirement and Honors 2003+
When Ed retired as University Chaplain, he and Jean no longer had a formal presence on the campus for the first time since 1947, except for the three years spent away in seminary.
Within a few years, Ed also retired from teaching Sunday School at Wake Forest Baptist Church, and Ed and Jean retired from fudge making. But they did not truly retire from Wake Forest, as they live nearby and visit the campus often to see friends and attend special events. Ed and Jean also remain members of the Wake Forest Baptist Church, which blessed their marriage in 1952 and Ed’s ordination in 1955.
Retirement in 2003 did free up Ed and Jean to start one new career — as grandparents to new grandson Francisco Christman Shehee, born earlier that year.
Ed says about grand-parenthood, “It’s not a piece of cake, it’s the whole cotton-picking cake.”
Ed and Jean with grandson Francisco and grand-dog Happy in the summer of 2004. Photo by C. Christman.
Ed and Jean with grandson Francisco December 2004. Photo by C. Christman.
Ed and Francisco practice wearing their sun hats, summer 2004. Photo by C. Christman.
Honors
The Wake Forest University Medallion of Merit, 2007
On February 22, 2007, President Nathan O. Hatch awarded Ed the highest honor given by Wake Forest, the University’s Medallion of Merit.
President Hatch’s award announcement read:
“Seldom does an institution spawn a graduate who so thoroughly embodies its soul, Pro Humanitate. Through a lifetime of service to both his alma mater and his profession, this honoree truly has enriched the lives of all whom he has served. His compassion and kindness, combined with his witty and wonderfully irreverent spirit, have made some proclaim he is Wake Forest’s own Demon Deacon…
“He has stood with us on happy occasions, marrying countless alumni, and on sad ones, easing our grief in profound moments of sorrow. But his most important role was as friend and counselor to generations of students. I am pleased to present Wake Forest University’s Medallion of Merit to an admired University leader, a minister to students and colleagues alike, the Reverend Edgar Douglas Christman.”
Divinity School Service Award, 2005
In March 2005, the Wake Forest Divinity School presented Ed Christman with its inaugural Wake Forest Divinity School Distinguished Service Award. The award was created to honor individuals who have offered “distinguished service” to Wake Forest Baptist Church, to the University, and to the world.
Dean Bill Leonard said that Ed was selected for his many contributions to the work of the gospel. “During his years of service to Wake Forest University, Ed Christman established a reputation as a preacher, administrator, counselor, university representative, and prophetic voice on the campus and in the larger community,” Leonard said. “As an active member of the Wake Forest Baptist Church and the Baptist Peace Fellowship, he has addressed issues of war and peace, justice and civil rights, servanthood, and the care of souls in the church and in the world.” [See "Christman Receives Service Award," in Divinity News, Spring 2005.]
Lifetime Coffee Card, 2003
One of Ed’s favorite honors — among all of those bestowed at retirement — is his Lifetime Coffee Card for the Wake Forest University Bookstore. Jean received a similar honor a few years later. With these cards, the Christmans have a bottomless cup of coffee to enjoy while the campus goes by. Ed and Jean love coffee. After all, it it is what brought them together… (See How Ed Met Jean)
Psalm 96 (O Sing to the Land a New Song), an Anthem for SATB Chorus and Piano (Original Composition, 2003)
In 2003, Dr. Mary Ann and Gerald Taylor celebrated Ed’s career and noted his retirement through the commission of an original piece of music by Dan Locklair, composer-in-residence and music professor at Wake Forest. The Taylors were long-time friends of the Christmans; Dr. Taylor was the Director of Student Health Services at Wake Forest from 1961-1991.
The commission — to be inspired by Psalm 96, one of Ed and Jean’s favorites — was made “in honor and in appreciation of the Reverend Edgar Douglas Christman for his forty-nine years of distinguished service to Wake Forest University.”
The beautiful result was Psalm 96 (O Sing to the Land a New Song), which had its world premier on December 4, 2003, in Brendle Recital Hall of Wake Forest University, as sung by the Wake Forest Concert Choir, Dr. Brian Gorelick, conductor. Psalm 96 has been published by Subito but is not yet recorded.
The Ed and Jean Christman Fellowship to the Wake Forest Divinity School, 2003
The dean and faculty of the Divinity School honored Ed and Jean Christman upon his retirement as Chaplain by naming the school’s full-tuition fellowship the Ed and Jean Christman Fellowship. The fellowship is awarded to the most promising applicants, providing them up to three years of tuition support. For the 2010-2011 school year, the Christman Fellowships support four students.
Scott Hudgins, director of Admissions and Student Services at the Divinity School, stated: “Few individuals have contributed more to the identity and ethos of Wake Forest. While Ed and Jean are models for faithful ministry, they are more importantly two whose presence on this campus touches several generations of students, faculty and staff.” [See "Ed and Jean Christman Fellowships," in Divinity at Wake Forest. Summer 2003.]
Wake Forest University Trustees’ Resolution, 2003
On April 4, 2003, the Wake Forest Board of Trustees and then-President Thomas K. Hearn, Jr., issued a Resolution Honoring Edgar Douglas Christman. It reads in part: “Edgar Christman has led and nurtured the Campus Ministry so that it serves the spiritual needs of all students, and has guided the spiritual life of Wake Forest as a voice of conscience, a witness to God’s grace, and an example of goodness and integrity. … Therefore, be it known that the members of the Board of Trustees extend their warm and heartfelt appreciation to Edgar Douglas Christman for his outstanding service to the University.”
The Lambda Chi Alpha Chapter Edgar D. Christman Award, Wake Forest University, 2003
In April 2003, the Theta Tau Zeta Chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity at Wake Forest University instituted a new honor — the Edgar D. Christman Initiate of the Year — to recognize a new brother in the chapter who shows Chaplain Christman’s strength of character and dedication to the fraternity.
At at dinner event announcing the award, there were many stories about Ed’s long association with the Wake Forest Lambda Chis and his years of service as the chapter’s faculty adviser. The chapter’s newsletter story “Honoring a Legacy,” recounts that “The Chaplain himself retold a tale from years past when he managed to keep the fraternity out of jail. Though, as he says, he never practiced law, he did wield a bit of rhetorical authority when some brothers’ illicit interest in Maple Springs Methodist Church’s pumpkin patch ran them amuck of the law.” [See "Honoring a Legacy," The Theta Taulker, Theta Tau Zeta Chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha, Spring 2003.]
The Ed and Jean Christman Scholarship to Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University created, as part of its William Louis Poteat Scholarship program, a scholarship in the names of Ed and Jean Christman. The Christman Scholarship, like the 20 other Poteat Scholarships, is awarded to first year students who are active members of a North Carolina Baptist church and who show promise of making a significant contribution to church and society.
Begun in 1982, the William Louis Poteat Scholarship program honors one of the university’s most prominent historical figures. William Louis Poteat was a devout Baptist, a professor of biology, the president of Wake Forest College from 1905-1927, and a strong champion for the freedom of inquiry.
Move to Salemtowne
In 2009, Ed and Jean moved from their house on Royall Drive to Salemtowne, a Moravian-based continuing care retirement community just a few miles away. Salemtowne is a wonderful home, with splendid neighbors, excellent food, and a spacious apartment. As Ed says, “we have landed in a wonderful place.”
What’s best about Salemtowne is the combination of old friends from Wake Forest — including Anne Atkins, Dick and Betty Mae Barnett, Carl and Lucille Harris, the late Ben Seelbinder, and many others — plus new friends from other places. Everyone has interesting lives and experiences to share. Ed and Jean love the community spirit, the dining room, and the many varied programs. They also love being able to stay so close to the campus.
No comments yet
You must be logged in to post a comment.