Lewis and Carolyn Ford Bock to be honored

Lewis and Carolyn Ford Bock will be honored as 2017 Friends of the University by the Southeast Missouri University Foundation in a ceremony tonight.

Lewis said in a news release, "It is a wonderful feeling to give back to the place that got you started. We are deeply humbled the university is honoring us in this way."

The ceremony, part of the annual President's Council Gala, begins at 6:30 p.m. in the atrium of the River Campus Cultural Arts Center.

The Friend of the University Award recognizes people who support and are closely associated with the mission, purposes, plans and programs of the university, according to the release.

Lewis and Carolyn Ford Bock certainly fit the bill.

Carolyn Ford Bock graduated from Southeast Missouri State College in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in education and majors in French and elementary education. She was an officer in Delta Delta Delta sorority and earned a Master of Arts in education from Southeast in 1986.

Lewis Bock graduated from Southeast with a bachelor's in business administration in 1963, following in the footsteps of his parents and preceding his son, Richard, who graduated from the university in 2010.

Lewis Bock was president of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and Westminster Fellowship, as well as a member of the Interfraternity Council, Sigma Rho Journalism Society and sports editor of the Capaha Arrow student newspaper. In 2000 he was awarded Southeast's Alumni Merit Award from the Harrison College of Business as a graduate who "brought distinction to themselves and the university," according to school officials.

The Bocks, who married in 2003 and are members of Cape Bible Chapel, sponsor a charitable-gift annuity that funds a scholarship for students at Southeast; Carolyn sponsors several scholarships and Lewis established the Lewis Family/Bock Family Scholarships.

Lewis, who worked briefly in banking and finance before holding a series of management positions over 33 years with Allstate, served on the Southeast Missouri State University Foundation board, chairs the Gateway Region Young Life board and is involved with the Cape Girardeau County Historical Society and the Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Cemetery board. He's also been involved with the Jaycees, Rotary International and Habitat for Humanity.

He and Carolyn both tutor in the Read to Succeed program while Carolyn also volunteers for Mothers of Preschool Children and is a group leader with Bible Study Fellowship International.

Carolyn worked for 22 years in various Southeast Missouri school districts as a public-school teacher, general educational development instructor and librarian. She was president of Friends of the Cape Girardeau Public Library, served as a Sunday-school teacher and member of the Area Board of Young Life and has participated with the United Way Women's Council and United Way After School Study program.

Congratulations to Lewis and Carolyn Ford Bock, who have improved the community and at Southeast.