Beaven, Winton Henry (1915–2003)
By Betty Carol Patterson Spalding
Betty Carol Patterson Spalding, MMUSED, MMUS (Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan), has lead orchestras and choirs along with lessons in violin, viola and piano, for 40 years. She worked in western Canada, U.S.A., Puerto Rico and Jamaica. She has taught in music conservatories and also started music conservatories in the music departments. As a genealogist, she has written family history.
First Published: January 29, 2020
Winton Henry Beaven was an Adventist educator, college administrator, lecturer, and broadcaster. He was president of the International Committee for the Prevention of Alcoholism. He spoke and taught in many countries, including Canada, Australia, Poland, and Yugoslavia.
Winton Henry Beaven was born January 26, 1915, in Binghamton, New York, to William H. Beaven, and Eva Lucinda Longway (1885-1979; 1891-1974).1 William immigrated to the United States in 1905 where he became a naturalized citizen.2 William and Eva Beaven were married on August 7, 1910, in Watertown, New York.3 When he registered for the World War I draft,4 William Beaven, Sr. was superintendent of construction for the United States Housing Corporation based in Washington, District of Columbia. Beavens had two sons, Winton and Bruce Lee (1925-1966).5 By 1920,6 the family was living in Oneida, New York, where both parents were public school teachers.
Winton Beaven graduated in 1937 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Atlantic Union College in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. He later earned a Master’s degree from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1950.7
Career
Beaven’s positions as educator included teaching Bible and English at Atlantic Union College, assistant professor of English and speech at Union College, speech professor at the University of Michigan, and as a professor at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. He was dean at Potomac University from 1956 to 1959 and served as dean and then president of Columbia Union College from 1959 to 1970 and provost of Kettering College from 1970 to 1983.8 He was also associate secretary of the American Temperance Society and worked in the summer Institutes of Scientific Study for Prevention of Alcoholism in Loma Linda, California, and Washington, District of Columbia.9
In 1965, Beaven, then president of Columbia Union College, and Pastor William Loveless jointly produced a television program that addressed religious and ethical issues. It is reported that they gave over 3,000 Bibles away to listeners in the first year.
Beaven and colleague Anna May Vaughan were honored by the founding of the Kettering College Service Learning Leadership Program (SLLP). This program was designed to help health students expand their care for patients and to assist others for successful lives no matter where the person lived around the world. 10
Beaven retired in July 1983, but did not stop working at Kettering College. He served as assistant to the president for special projects.11
Marriage and Family
Beaven married Barba Halifax (1920-2005) in 1938. The marriage produced six children: three boys and three girls: Cherie, M. Eric, Barbara, Connie, Barry, and Marc. In 1969, he married Lorraine Smith.12 He and Lorraine had one daughter, Lara.
Winton Beaven died on May 12, 2003 in Dayton, Ohio13 and was buried with his parents in the McConnellsville Cemetery in McConnellsville, Oneida, New York.14
His Writings
In 1952, Beaven wrote in Ministry that the postwar religious awakening had increased the number of men seeking to enter the ministry. More theology seminaries were expanded to hold all the men wanting to become ministers. The preaching of these ministers, he said, had improved greatly. He also encouraged ministers need to get personalize their sermons, including words like I, we, and you.15
Beaven frequently wrote about alcoholism and the challenges in presented the medical community in helping those who were addicted to alcohol. Preaching about God to an alcoholic, he said, is no help. Alcoholism is not just a poor person’s problem. It is a problem of all walks of life: from rich to the poor, from middle class to the upper class.16
Beaven wrote about the difference between drunkenness and alcoholism. Alcoholics do not always know that they are alcoholics. They could drink and not know it was affecting them until they look like bums from skid row and be totally unaware of the process. They are masters of self-denial of what is happening to them. A person can drink around others and no one is aware that the person has a drinking problem. No one is able to tell who is likely to become an alcoholic so, Beaven asserted, it is best not to take the first drink.17
Beaven, an acknowledged leader in narcotics education, said that drugs are harmful or they would not be classified as drugs. He said, “Any intelligent man or woman who takes unprescribed tranquilizers is a fool.”18 In 1974, Beaven stated, “Often the churches are entirely too simplistic in their approach to drug and alcohol abuses, telling a person to pray over his problems and then neglecting to work with him further personally. Most drug abusers are alienated from society, and alienation comes before the drug use.”19
In October 1974, Beaven expressed concerns about the church and spreading the message of God to the world. He compared evangelism between second century Christians and twentieth century Christians. Modern evangelism had to address paganism and Christian ideas in the same person. These ideas were all “mixed up" in the minds of modern people. The giving of the gospel was more difficult to a people who did not realize the mix up that was in their mind and beliefs. How then does a Christian bring the message to modern people? Christians needed to live the life of a true Christian as Christ did so very long ago but with modern applications. Christians needed to walk and talk as if he was walking with God and in His presence all the time. They needed to look at Christ’s ministry while here. He was understanding, caring, and loving even to the most lowly person in His presence.20
Beaven took a great interest in drug use in the Seventh-day Adventist church and investigated it through many studies of the problem among church members. The result was to set up a curriculum that would help students from K-12, starting at Andrews University and spreading throughout the United States.
An information hot line has been developed at AU that will provide direction and assistance to anyone in North America who calls. Because substance abuse is as much a problem of feelings as it is of fact, and because mood-altering drugs provide easy escape for those who seek it, we have been searching for a program that would provide emotional support to young people to assist them in remaining drug-free.21
Beaven wrote a book called, Now You’re Living: Basic information for Scientific Education for Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction: Whither Research?22 and collaborated on another book entitled Building a Tradition of Caring.23 He also wrote articles on speech in the Quarterly Journal of Speech and articles in other magazines such as Listen.
Sources
Beaven, W. H. “Alcoholism and the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Part 1.” Ministry, October 1959.
Beaven, W. H. “Alcoholism and the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Concluded.” Ministry, November 1959.
Beaven, W. H. “Whither Bound?” Ministry, September 1952.
Beaven, Winton H. “Are Adventist Evangelists Speaking in Unknown Tongues?” Ministry, October 1974.
Beaven, Winton H. “Developing an Assistance Base.” ARH, June 1, 1989.
Beaven, Winton H. Whither Research? [Washington, D.C.]: National Committee for the Prevention of Alcoholism, 1959.
Beaven, Winton Henry. “A Critical Analysis and Appraisal of the Public Address of Senator George W. Norris.” PhD diss, University of Michigan, 1950.
“Bruce Lee Beaven obituary.” Atlantic Union Gleaner, January 6, 1967.
“Churches' Role in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Discussed.” Lake Union Herald, July 23, 1974.
“Dr. Winton Beaven Named New Dean of W. M. C.” Columbia Union Visitor, April 30, 1959.
Nelson, George B., Robert L. Willett, and Winton Henry Beaven. Building the Tradition of Caring. New York: Newcomen Society in North America, 1981.
New York. Marriage Certificates. New York State Department of Health. Albany, New York. Ancestry.com. Accessed December 11, 2019. https://www.ancestry.com.
New York. Oneida County. 1920 United States Census. Digital Images. Ancestry.com. Accessed December 11, 2019. https://www.ancestry.com.
New York. Oneida County. 1930 United States Census. Digital Images. Ancestry.com. Accessed December 11, 2019. https://www.ancestry.com.
United States. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Ancestry.com. Accessed December 11, 2019. https://www.ancestry.com.
“Vaughan-Beaven Service Learning Honors Program.” Kettering College. 2019. Accessed December 11, 2019, https://kc.edu/campus-resources/student-life/service/slhp/.
“Winton Beaven, Ph.D., Dean Kettering College.” Columbia Union Visitor, November 23, 1972.
“Winton H. Beaven.” Find a Grave. 2019. Accessed December 11, 2019. http://www.findagrave.com/wintonbeavem.
“Winton H. Beaven obituary.” ARH, June 26, 2003.
“Winton H. Beaven obituary.” Columbia Union Visitor, July 2003, 4.
“Winton H. Beaven obituary.” Focus, Summer 2003.
Notes
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“William H. Beaven,” Find a Grave, 2019, accessed December 11, 2019, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23470009; “Eva L. Beaven obituary,” Atlantic Union Gleaner, April 8, 1975, 22.↩
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1930 United States Census, Oneida County, New York, enumeration district 165, roll T626, FHL microfilm 2341357, page 2b, digital image, “Beaven, William H.” Ancestry.com, accessed December 11, 2019, https://ancestry.com.↩
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New York, Certificate of Marriage no. 10387 (1910), William Beaven, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York, Ancestry.com, accessed December 11, 2019, https://www.ancestry.com.↩
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United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Broome County, New York, digital image, “William Henry Beaven,” Ancestry.com, accessed December 11, 2019, https://www.ancestry.com.↩
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“Bruce Lee Beaven obituary,” Atlantic Union Gleaner, January 6, 1967, 14.↩
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1920 United States Census, Oneida County, New York, enumeration district 195, roll T625_1243, page 7b, digital image, “Beaven, William H.” Ancestry.com, accessed December 11, 2019, https://ancestry.com.↩
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Beaven, Winton Henry. “A Critical Analysis and Appraisal of the Public Address of Senator George W. Norris.” PhD diss., University of Michigan, 1950.↩
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“Winton H. Beaven obituary,” ARH, June 26, 2003, 20-21; “Winton H. Beaven obituary,” Columbia Union Visitor, July 2003, 4.↩
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“Dr. Winton Beaven Named New Dean of W. M. C.,” Columbia Union Visitor, April 30, 1959, 1.↩
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“Vaughan-Beaven Service Learning Honors Program,” Kettering College, 2019, accessed December 11, 2019, https://kc.edu/campus-resources/student-life/service/slhp/.↩
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“Winton H. Beaven obituary,” ARH, June 26, 2003, 21.↩
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“Winton H. Beaven obituary,” Focus, Summer 2003, 22-23.↩
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Ibid.↩
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“Winton H. Beaven,” Find a Grave, 2019, accessed December 11, 2019, http://www.findagrave.com/wintonbeavem.↩
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W. H. Beaven, “Whither Bound?” Ministry, September 1952, 4-6.↩
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W. H. Beaven, “Alcoholism and the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Part 1,” Ministry, October 1959, 26-30.↩
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W. H. Beaven, “Alcoholism and the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Concluded,” Ministry, November 1959, 18-21, 32.↩
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“Winton Beaven, Ph.D., Dean Kettering College,” Columbia Union Visitor, November 23, 1972, 2-3.↩
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“Churches' Role in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Discussed,” Lake Union Herald, July 23, 1974, 2.↩
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Winton H. Beaven, “Are Adventist Evangelists Speaking in Unknown Tongues?” Ministry, October 1974, 4-7.↩
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Winton H. Beaven, “Developing an Assistance Base,” ARH, June 1, 1989, 15.↩
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Winton H. Beaven, Whither Research? ([Washington, DC]: National Committee for the Prevention of Alcoholism, 1959).↩
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George B. Nelson, Robert L. Willett, and Winton Henry Beaven, Building the Tradition of Caring (New York: Newcomen Society in North America, 1981).↩