Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Spring 2013 | Page 33

In their mid sixties, the Normans now work with SIM in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia. Dan teaches systematic theology, historical theology,
and philosophy at the Evangelical Theological College, while Judy
works primarily with babies born with cleft palates who struggle to
gain adequate nutrition because of their hindered ability to nurse.
Despite unanticipated trials and frustrations, the Normans thank
God for leading them to Ethiopia in 2006. They enjoy discovering
a new culture through Ethiopian friends and colleagues. They feel
privileged to lead a Bible study for Chinese nationals who live in the
country and had never previously been exposed to Christianity or
the Bible. There are more Chinese people in Ethiopia, the Normans
note, than all other foreigners combined.
“Faith is much more of a real experience here on a daily basis for
Ethiopians, as well as for missionaries,” Dan says. “In the U.S.,
we felt quite self-sufficient by comparison. We see God leading in
many ways, and God gives us strength and grace to deal with some
difficult situations.”

Pete Willson ’50
#bringingGodgloryinhumility
As homesteaders in Canada in the 1910s and 1920s and the parents of
ten children, Jim and Grace Willson modeled a life of faith and hard
work that has been carried on by their youngest child, Pete, to this day.
After graduating from Wheaton, Pete worked as a high school
coach and P.E. teacher in schools in Illinois and Iowa. He often spent
summer months painting classrooms and doing other maintenance
work for the school, work he continues to enjoy.
“I can sit and read for a few hours, but I need activity,” Pete says.
“Work is very enjoyable.”
Pete returned to Wheaton 14 years after graduating and took a
position with the alumni office. He later joined the P.E. department
and coaching staff and then served as Wheaton’s head wrestling
coach from 1974 to 1990. A champion wrestler while at Wheaton,
Pete rose to national attention as a coach. In 1990, he was inducted
into the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Hall of
Fame, and in 2001 Wheaton renamed the Wheaton Invitational—one
of the top small-school wrestling tournaments in the nation—the Pete
Willson-Wheaton Invitational.
But Pete won’t crow about these accomplishments. Now 84, Pete
speaks of the enjoyment he gets from his handyman business and his
sometime collaboration with fellow former Wheaton faculty member
Jim Mann. He speaks fondly of his wife June Coray-Willson ’50,
five children (all of whom attended Wheaton), 16 grandchildren, and
19 great-grandchildren. But most of all, his attention is focused on
the God he continues faithfully to serve.
“God’s plan is not for us to be important and bring glory to him,”
Pete says. “But it is for us to be humble and unimportant so that all may
see his glory.”

Dr. Jim Mann HON (left) and Pete Willson ’50 sometimes work together on
handyman jobs that are too big or time-consuming for just one person.

#

God’s plan is not for us to be important and
bring glory to him, but it is for us to be humble
and unimportant so that all may see his glory.”
–Pete Willson ’50

Dr. James Mann HON
#thepleasureofworkwelldone
Emeritus mathematics professor Dr. Jim Mann taught at Wheaton
for two decades before retiring in 2002. He still lives in town and
speaks with a southern accent that points b