BETHANY, W.Va. – The Bethany community past and present will host a memorial service Saturday, Nov. 20, for an alumnus who over a 45-year career served seven Bethany presidents.
Joseph M. Kurey died July 11 in Griffin, Ga., at age 81. The service will be at 1 p.m. at Bethany Memorial Church, with the Rev. Thaddaeus B. Allen ’92 and the Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, pastor of Bethany Memorial Church, officiating. The Rev. William B. Allen ‘62, Bethany College Trustee Emeritus, former Bethany Memorial Church pastor, former Bethany College chaplain, and a classmate of Kurey’s, will also speak.
Friends and family are invited to gather for a reception at 2 p.m. in the back of the Ogden Dining Hall.
A private graveside service for his family will follow the reception.
Kurey, a four-year starter on the Bison basketball team and a conference champion in tennis, received his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1962. He went on to receive a master’s degree in education from the University of Dayton.
Shortly after, he returned to Bethany to coach the basketball and tennis team. Kurey’s career later shifted to administrative roles, including assistant dean of men, registrar, chief business officer, vice president of finance, and senior counsel to the president. He became athletic director in his final year at Bethany.
Upon his retirement in 2006, Bethany College bestowed upon Kurey the title of Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Emeritus.
He was inducted into the Bethany College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978 and received the Distinguished Service to Alma Mater Award from the Bethany College Alumni Association in 1985.
Kurey also served as mayor of Bethany and as a member of several Brooke County commissions.
Upon retirement Kurey and his wife, Carol ’61, moved to Sun City Peachtree in Griffin, Ga.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by two sons, a daughter and seven grandchildren.
In place of flowers, the family has requested donations to the Joseph Kurey Memorial Fund at Bethany College, 31 E. Campus Drive, Bethany, WV 26032