Painting the Town Maroon - McMurry University

While there are many cities, towns, churches and schools that have had a unique connection to McMurry
over the years, there has always been something special about this small town in southeastern New Mexico.
dinner at the alumni gathering: “Artesia and McMurry
are similar in the fact that they are both close-knit
communities that take pride in being the best they
can be.”
As people visited that evening over chips, salsa and
authentic Mexican food, there quickly surfaced a few
common factors that link this small community in New
Mexico to McMurry. One of these important factors is
family, as evidenced by the attendance of Alice Lorang
’53 and her two daughters, Shelley Lorang Ebarb ’78 and
Christi Lorang Bever ’79. Alice shared the following:
“My brother attended McMurry and my three daughters
attended, with two of them (Shelley and Christi)
graduating.” Christi acknowledged the influence of her
parents in her decision to attend McMurry. “My parents
are alumni and had so many good things to say about it.
As a child, I visited at homecoming and fell in love with
it.”
Not only did Alice influence her daughters, she
influenced her future students as well. After graduating
from McMurry, Alice moved to Artesia and taught at
the high school where Cheri Widmayer ’73 attended.
After her graduation from McMurry, Cherie followed
Alice’s example and also returned to Artesia to teach. In
fact, a number of alumni from Artesia returned home
after graduation, and many of those “returners” are
employed as educators. The Artesia school system has
provided a great venue for McMurry alumni to influence
and encourage future generations of Artesia students to
attend McMurry. Randy and Lynn Worley, whose son