Helen and Jim
Wilsford have attended the Orangeburg church of Christ for 31 years where Jim serves as an elder and Helen teaches Bible
classes. For most of this time, Jim has taught the Lord’s Day morning Bible class.
Most of these lessons were first taught to the adults in Orangeburg. Helen is the editor of these materials.
Helen and Jim met at Florida Christian College (Florida College) from which they graduated in 1954 with
A.A. degrees. They have been married for 53 years. Both have attended David Lipscomb College.
Helen holds both a B.A. and an M.A. from South Carolina State University. Jim holds a B.A. from Kent State University,
a M.A. from Eastern Michigan University, an Ed.S. from Appalachian State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of South
Carolina.
Helen
and Jim spent their careers as school teachers and administrators. Before coming to Orangeburg, Jim was an English teacher
and school administrator. Helen also was a teacher and school administrator. Helen
and Jim worked with congregations in Virginia, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia, in addition to their secular
jobs. During this time, Helen and
Jim helped to start three of these congregations, including the building of meeting
houses. Helen and Jim retired in 1999 and have
since devoted considerable time to publishing literature suitable for class work and personal Bible study.
During his secular career, Jim served 15 years as Superintendent of the Orangeburg (SC) School District Five. In 1989, the school district and Jim received the ComputerWorld/Smithsonian
award for advancing education systems technology. That same year, Jim was selected as the National School Superintendent of
the Year by the American Association of School Administrators. Helen and Jim authored the multimedia
reading software, Phonics Too, and Jim's book, Reading, Writing, and Phonics Too. In 2005, Catch the Silent Silver--a collection of Jim's poetry from across the years--was published.
Helen and Jim have three sons—David, Philip, and
Timothy—and two grandchildren—Caroline and Christopher. The family home is in Orangeburg, South Carolina
at 3081 Landing Way. You may reach Jim by e-mail at jwilsford@sc.rr.com or by phone at (803)534-4759.
