Your Legacy—in Families and Adventist Education

Story by Andrew S. Lay

"Legacy” can mean your reputation, good works or what you leave to your family or charities when you pass away. For several Highland View Academy (HVA) alumni and families, their legacy has been to put their sons and daughters through a Seventh-day Adventist high school setting where the chances of developing an education for eternity is greater. Several of these families describe their legacies below:

HVA was built on the former Negley family farm, with the Negley sons, David (’59), Nathan (’60) and John Negley, Sr. (’66) all graduating from the school. John would also send his son John Negley Jr. (’88) to the academy (both pictured below).

Around that same era, three of the five Melashenko brothers attended and/or graduated from Mount Aetna Academy/HVA: Lonnie (’64), Joedy, associate alumnus (’66) and Dallas (’68)— who are now known for their work in Adventist media ministries and singing evangelism.

Other family legacy trees include Mary (Negley) Huntzberry (’63), her daughter Katrina (Huntzberry) Bishop (’87) and granddaughter Ashley (Dunbar) McMullen (’07).

Some families graduated closer to each other and later brought their children. Sam Pierce (’86) and his wife, Kimberly (Coleman) Pierce (’85), sent their children, Kayla (Pierce) Anderson (’13), Wade (’17) and Rebecca (’19) to HVA.

And on graduation day, we see more members as families congregate for the special occasion. Siblings Herbert Dennison III (’96) and Angie (Dennison) Brown (’93) have sent their children to the academy: Adam Brown (’21) and current students Herbert Dennison IV (’23) and Joel Brown (’22), pictured with his mom, Angie.

School leaders still count on the legacy families who have sent their children to be educated in an Adventist Christian setting here at HVA. They hope others start their own legacy by sending family members through Adventist education.

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