Former UofC President and wife put college on the map; deserve pay

Editor’s note: The original version of this letter inaccurately referred to Cumberland University  in the first sentenced instead of University of the Cumberlands. Cumberland University is an entirely different institution located in Lebanon, Tenn.

To the Editor:

All the way from New York, it is heartbreaking to learn that University of the Cumberlands, a thriving private liberal-arts college affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention, has reneged on its promise of retirement benefits for its former president James Taylor and his wife Dinah, two dynamic leaders in the educational field and role models for the young people they guided and embraced. Working together as an extraordinary husband-wife team, they put Cumberland College on the map, leading it to new heights as a university during their 35 years of dedicated service and as eloquent ambassadors in retirement.

I connected with Jim and Dinah following the tragic death of their son Jim in 1991 and worked closely with Dinah as she brought hundreds of bereaved parents to Cumberland for an annual bereavement gathering where I was a featured speaker each year, along with other prominent leaders in the bereavement field. Together we touched the hearts of grieving families all across the USA, reaching out with newsletters, information packets and offering education, inspiration and hope to these families while adding to the prestige of Cumberland University as a beacon of comfort, knowledge and God’s love.

Elaine E. Stillwell
Chapter Leader, The Compassionate Friends of Rockville Centre, NY
Columnist, Grief Digest
Author, The Death of a Child
Bereaved Parent, Peggy and Denis