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Another diverse group of high-achieving alumni has been chosen for membership in the McKeesport High School Hall of Fame.

The Class of 2010 is the 23rd to be inducted, says Karen Kost, spokeswoman for the McKeesport High School Alumni and Friends Association. Honorees will be recognized at a banquet Oct. 9 at Stratigos in North Huntingdon Township, she says.

A reception will be held at 6 p.m, followed by dinner and the induction ceremony. Tickets are $40 and reservations are required by Oct. 1, Kost says. For more information, call (412) 678-9215 or visit the Consortium for Public Education website.

A biographical sketch of the nominees follows.

. . .

Urban Garrett ('48) was the first member of his family to graduate from high school and the first to earn a college degree. He put both to good use in an education career that spanned nearly 50 years.

He began as a public school teacher and musician in Humbolt, Tenn., after graduating from Fisk University with a bachelor of arts in music in 1952. He went on to earn a math degree from Memphis State University and to teach mathematics, eventually returning to the area to join the faculty at Community College of Allegheny County.

He spent 25 years at CCAC in a variety of positions, gaining expertise in working with diverse groups of students in need of improved developmental skills, from those seeking GEDs to ironworkers learning math. He began as a math tutor at CCAC's Allegheny Campus, went on to teach all phases of GED preparation, then worked as a coordinator responsible for the college's Math and Reading Labs before retiring in 2001.

During his years at CCAC, Garrett also taught piano, violin and voice for the Jazz Workshop in Homewood, offered GED math preparation at the Earnest T. Williams Center in the Northview Heights public housing community on Pittsburgh's North Side, and taught math for Urban Youth Action.

An accomplished musician on both piano and violin, Garrett has often been called upon to play the piano at special events around the area.

. . .

Ellen Vasey Show ('55) balanced her professional career in health care with her dedication to the community.

She began her career as a nurse in the emergency room at McKeesport Hospital before resigning her post and becoming a school nurse at McKeesport Area High School for four years, earning enough money to attend college at night and on weekends.

In 1965, she was recruited to return to McKeesport Hospital, where she was instrumental in launching its Intensive and Coronary Care Unit. She went onto study coronary care at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, then oversaw the expansion and redesign of the Emergency Department at McKeesport. She also opened the first Psychiatric Unit at McKeesport Hospital.

In the 1970s, while at the University of Pittsburgh, she collaborated with physicians and other nurses to set measurable standards for medical care, then tested the standards at local hospitals. Based on her efforts, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals made quality assurance programs mandatory for hospitals to obtain accreditation. She has written professional articles and won numerous awards for her work.

In the community, she volunteered for 13 years at the McKeesport Heritage Center and in 2008 began serving as a volunteer ambassador at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh. She is also a board member for the LaRosa Boys and Girls Club, and currently serves as president of the McKeesport College Club.

. . .

Robert E. Nahory ('56) credits strong McKeesport school programs emphasizing reading and music for launching his life-long interest in science and in music.

He learned to play the drums in fifth grade and continued playing throughout high school. After graduating as valedictorian, he earned a bachelor's in physics at Carnegie Tech, then enrolled at Purdue University, graduating with master's and doctoral degrees.

As a researcher at AT&T's Bell Laboratories, Nahory embarked on research into fiber-optic cables for use in high-speed data communications, leading directly to today's cable television and Internet networks. For this work, he and colleague Marty Pollack received the IEEE William Streiffer Scientific Achievement Award. Nahory has published more than 150 scientific papers and holds a dozen patents.

He left AT&T in 1997 and began teaching at Rutgers University, including both college-level physics and outreach to pupils in grades 2 through 12. Since 2003, Nahory has been working with Rutgers' Institute of Jazz Studies to archive and preserve performances digitally.

He is married to the former Dawn Muse of McKeesport.

. . .

Allan G. Bluman ('60) has spent his life helping people master mathematics and statistics, both as a teacher and later as a successful author.

After graduating from California University of Pennsylvania, he began his career in the classroom at McKeesport Junior High School, where he taught for three years. He went on to earn master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Pittsburgh and taught at Community College of Allegheny County for 36 years.

He has written seven mathematics books for the McGraw-Hill Company, two of which are currently used in over 400 colleges and universities in the United States.

Active in the community, Bluman also coached Little League baseball and is active in Versailles AARP, Elizabeth Township Sportsmen's Association, St. Angela's Keener Citizens, and the McKeesport Toastmasters Club. He is married to the former Betty Claire O'Brien.

. . .

Earlene Coleman ('64) has been active in the religious and civic life of McKeesport for more than three decades and is currently pastor of the city's historic Bethlehem Baptist Church.

When she was called to serve as pastor in April of 2003, she became the first woman to lead the congregation in its 120-year history. Under her pastorate, numerous innovative programs have been instituted and others have been re-invigorated. Presently, she is spearheading fund-raising efforts to establish a community center in the former R&J Furniture store, Downtown.

A graduate of the American Baptist College of Pittsburgh, Coleman was licensed and ordained under the leadership of the late Aubrey E. Swann. She has also studied child development, evangelism and ministry and has traveled and preached in Jamaica, the West Indies, Guyana, South America, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Her involvement in the community includes service on the board of the McKeesport YWCA and Womansplace; the city's Human Rights Commission; and McKeesport Women's Aglow, an organization which she headed. She is currently assistant secretary for the Baptist Ministers' Conference and serves on the Advisory Board of Penn State Greater Allegheny Campus.

Retired from McKeesport Area School District after 30 years' service, she is married to the Rev. Kenneth Coleman.

. . .

Cheryl McCall ('68) was once described by a friend and co-worker as "a rabble-rouser" and a "crusading reporter." Her editorials against the Vietnam War, written for the student newspaper at Wayne State College in Detroit, led then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to brand her a security threat.

As a reporter for the former Life magazine, McCall wrote about celebrities such as Willie Nelson, Maya Angelou and Billie Jean King, but also traveled to poverty and famine stricken areas of Ethiopia and Haiti. Her experiences led McCall to interview poor children closer to home and led her to write a story for Life called "Streetwise" about homeless youth in Seattle.

In 1985, McCall turned "Streetwise" into a documentary that was nominated for an Academy Award. Fed up with journalism's limitations, McCall entered Yale University Law School, passed the bar exam in California and became a child-custody attorney.

She died in 2005 after a long battle with breast cancer.

. . .

Margaret D. Larkins-Pettigrew ('72) is an assistant professor at Case Western University School of Medicine in Cleveland.

As the Director of Global Health Programs in Case Western's Department of Reproductive Biology, Pettigrew coordinates international education for medical students and faculty. She recently launched a program for women and newborn children called WONDOOR, which tries to educate global physicians through local and international health care collaborations.

Pettigrew also is a founding member and vice-president of health education for Project Africa Global-International Programs for Sustainable Solutions, where she helped develop and implement an international health care curriculum for residents, faculty and students from medical schools around the world. She also assists health care professionals who volunteer for medical missions in west and southern Africa.

An alumna of the University of Pittsburgh and California State University, Pettigrew earned an MD degree as well as advanced degrees in nursing, education and public policy and management, and she is a veteran of the U.S. Navy.

Locally, she is an active volunteer to many health care organizations and is a frequent speaker internationally and throughout the Pittsburgh region and is currently chair of Global Links, a non-profit organization that collects and distributes medical supplies to Latin American and African countries.

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