Elam was hired as a Development Officer at Hesston College in September 1990. He was named Director of Development in January 1995 after the previous director stepped down. Under his direction, the college reached a record of raising $1 million for the Annual Fund for the 1997-98 academic year.
“Elam was as insightful, supportive, positive and honest to work for as any employee could ask for in a supervisor,” said Director of Alumni and Church Relations Dallas Stutzman. “His previous and extensive work as an administrator helped provide keen insight and big picture thinking that provided quality leadership and direction for Hesston College.”
Due to a new administrative structure in 2000, Elam was named Executive Vice President for Advancement. The new department included Admissions, Alumni Relations, Communications and Development. He served in this role until 2006 at which point he moved to a part-time role of Development Officer and focused his efforts on raising funds for the college and building relationships with constituents in the eastern United States. In 2010 Elam took on the role of Planned Giving Advisor. He worked with Hesston College alumni and friends across the United States in understanding and arranging gift planning.
“Elam’s understanding of planned giving and philanthropy was a gift to the college and many whom he worked with,” said Vice President of Advancement Yvonne Sieber.
“Elam was a faithful servant of Jesus Christ and the church,” said President Howard Keim. “We will miss his dedication to the mission of the college, his careful work, his kindness and generosity. I will personally miss his genuine care for individual people, his encouragement and his optimistic spirit.”
Elam built relationships with many Hesston College Partners and donors in his 20 years at Hesston College, and maintained connections with churches and other constituents. Working with John Griffin, Sr., Elam was at the forefront of establishing planned giving as part of the college’s development efforts.
“Elam and Nancy took a personal interest in the friends of Hesston College as well as those he worked with each day,” said Keim. “He made great contributions to fundraising, including capital projects and many partners around the United States.”
From 1995 to the time of his death, Elam served on and chaired the board for the Dyck Arboretum of the Plains, which is owned by the college. He also served as co-chair of the Centennial Planning Committee for the college’s centennial celebration in 2009.
Elam had a deep love for Hesston College and the broader Mennonite church. He enjoyed his relationships with colleagues, alumni, partners, donors, churches and students. Elam and his wife, Nancy, graciously opened their home to international students over the years, providing them with a home in the summers and during holidays.
“I appreciated getting to know Elam and Nancy while I was a student at Hesston,” said Moon Jiayi Yu, a former student from China, currently living in Lincoln, Neb. “They frequently invited international students for Sunday meals, and Elam shared stories from his life and academic experiences. His teaching will always be a part of my life.”
“Elam as a person embodied the spirit of community that is Hesston College,” said Stutzman. “He maintained high quality relationships within the college and also across the college’s many constituencies and the Mennonite church. He was a father-figure during my years at Hesston, having lost my own father at an early age. For that I will be always grateful. His untimely death is a great loss to the college, Hesston and broader church community.”
Prior to his work at Hesston College, Elam spent 23 years teaching at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School (Lansdale, Pa.). He served as Principal at Christopher Dock from 1979 to 1989. He also served as Director of Agricultural Missions in Costa Rica through Rosedale Missions from 1962 to 1964.
Elam served on other various church conference and education boards and committees before arriving at Hesston as well.
Elam grew up in the Belleville, Pa., area. He graduated from Belleville Mennonite School in 1958 and from Eastern Mennonite College (Harrisonburg, Va.) with a B.S. in biology and sociology in 1962. He then attended Pennsylvania State University (State College), earning his secondary education certificate in 1965 and his M. Ed. in earth science education in 1969. He earned his Ed.D. in educational administration from Temple University (Philadelphia) in 1986.
Elam was an active member of Whitestone Mennonite Church in Hesston where he served as elder. He also enjoyed working in his garden with his wife, playing with and teaching the grandkids in the backyard and finding unique and interesting places to visit.
“The word that comes to mind most often as I think of Elam is ‘gracious,’” said Sieber. “We experienced him to be kind, honorable and gracious in his work at Hesston College.”
Elam is survived by his wife, Nancy; three daughters Shana Peachey Boshart and her husband David, of Parnell, Iowa; Cheryl Peachey Stoner and her husband, Robert, of Hesston; and Leigh Ann Peachey O’Halloran and her husband, Keith, of Hesston; nine grandsons, one granddaughter-in-law, and one great-granddaughter. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Sharon (French) Peachey.
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 9, at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College Campus. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 10, at Whitestone Mennonite Church. In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established for Hesston College and with the Mennonite Church USA Racial/Ethnic Leadership Education fund. Family and friends also may sign an online guestbook and view the memorial service live through the Hesston College website.