Obituaries
Fletcher Gilders is dead at eighty-six
F letcher A. Gilders, diving coach at Kenyon from 1985 until his recent retirement, died on September 1, 1998, in Ahmic Harbor, Ontario, Canada, of a pulmonary embolism. He was sixty-eight years old and a resident of Athens, Ohio.
An outstanding diving coach at Ohio University (OU) before coming to the College, Gilders was one of the most successful divers in collegiate history. At Ohio State University (OSU), he was national champion on the one-meter springboard in 1954 and 1955, setting an NCAA Division I record that stood until overturned by Greg Louganis. He competed in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. On September 19, Gilders was be inducted into the OSU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Gilders spent twenty-seven years as swimming and diving coach at OU, winning eight Mid-American Conference titles and developing three Olympic divers. He also coached cheerleading and gymnastics and worked as an assistant coach for the track and field squad.
At Kenyon, where he coached the diving team for twelve years, Gilders produced three Division III champions and won three NCAA Division III Coach of the Year honors. Coach Jim Steen, who competed as a college swimmer against Gilders's teams at Ohio University, remembers him as a man who had a generous spirit about sharing his knowledge . "I don't know of an award I ever valued as much as the times he would swagger up to me after a championship meet, take my hand in both of his, look me in the eye and say, `Jim, you did a hell of a job with the team.'"
Gilders is survived by his wife, Sandra, a daughter, Laura Gilders Bean, and three sons, Gregory A., David L., and Roger M. Gilders. Memorial contributions may be made to Camp Ak-O-Mak, where Gilders coached each summer, in care of Ruth Ann Gilders, 18674 South Canaan Road, Guysville, Ohio 45735.
Novice G. Fawcett '31, former president of Ohio State University, on June 19, 1998. He was eighty-nine and a resident of Columbus, Ohio.
A Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude graduate of Kenyon with degrees in physics and mathematics, Novice earned his master's degree from Ohio State University in 1937. He would later receive sixteen honorary degrees, including one from Kenyon in 1952. Although he had planned a career in business, Novice accepted a teaching job at Gambier High School because of the Depression. He served as the local superintendent from 1934 to 1938 and then went on to serve as superintendent for five years each in the Defiance and Bexley, Ohio, schools. Assistant superintendent in Akron, Ohio, from 1948 to 1949, Novice then became superintendent of the Columbus, Ohio, school system. On June 25, 1956, he was named the eighth president of Ohio State University, a position he held until his retirement in 1972. As president emeritus, Novice served as acting commissioner for higher education in Indiana and as chairman of the Educational Commission of the States. He also became an educational consultant to the Ohio Board of Regents, the Governor's Council for Cost Control, and the Lilly Endowment.
Novice is survived by a daughter, Jane Fawcett-Hoover, two grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and a brother, Carl V. Fawcett. Memorial contributions may be made to the Novice G. and Marjorie K. Fawcett Scholarship Fund in care of Ohio State University, Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, Columbus 43210.
Richard F. Clippinger '33 on January 4, 1998, of heart failure. He was eighty-four and a resident of Pompano Beach, Florida.
A mathematics major at Kenyon, Dick was accepted for graduate study at Harvard University. Under the influence of Samuel Mather Professor of German and French Paul H. Larwill and his wife, he went to Paris to study at the Sorbonne from 1933 to 1935 before earning his Ph.D. at Harvard in 1940. During World War II, Dick worked as an electronic-computing pioneer at the Ballistic Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground. There, he developed a variety of mathematical applications, including calculations for a nozzle important in the design of rocket engines. Dick remained there until 1952, when he moved to Massachusetts to work for Raytheon, and later Honeywell, until his retirement in 1974. In 1996, he received the Computer Pioneer Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society.
Dick is survived by his wife, Dorothy, four children, and eight grandchildren.
Austin W. Mann '34 on March 12, 1998. He was eighty-six and a resident of Freeport, Pennsylvania.
A philosophy major at Kenyon, Austin was a member of Alpha Delta Phi. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps for four years during World War II, with postings in Burma, China, and India. Austin was an import-export scheduler for thirty years with Schenley Distillers, from which he retired in 1976. He was a son of Warren Howard Mann of the Class of 1900, who composed the words to "The Thrill."
Austin is survived by his wife, Margaret Jack Mann; three daughters, Anna Mann Lowry, Marta Mann Conkling, and Carol Mann Herrick; a son, Austin Ward Mann II; and eight grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 323 Fifth Street, Freeport, Pennsylvania 16229, or Hospice of Butler County, 154 Hindman Road, Butler, Pennsylvania 16001.
H. Charles Knill III 1937 on May 24, 1998. He was eighty-two and a resident of Port Huron, Michigan.
Before coming to Kenyon, where he studied for one semester, Chuck attended Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. He went on to graduate from Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science and Harvard Business School. Chuck was president and owner of Holland Builders Supply Company and an active land developer with Lakeshore Development Company, Garfield Woods Subdivision, and Colonial Village in Port Huron. He was also president of the H.C. Knill Company. Committed to community work in the Port Huron area, Chuck was chairman of the St. Clair County Board of Supervisors and the St. Clair Ways and Means Committee and a member of the Executive Committee of the Planning Commission. He was also a director of the John W. Newmann Company, chairman of the St. Clair Board of Auditors and the St. Clair County Building Authority, and president of the Citizens for Better Schools. In addition, Chuck served as president of the Blue Water Mental Health and Child Guidance Clinic, whose board he sat on for thirty-one years.
Chuck is survived by his wife, Rachel Ann Knill; a daughter, Karen Knill Swanson; two stepsons, Thomas A. Swanson and William W. Sharp; and seven grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to the Blue Water Mental Health and Child Guidance Clinic, 1501 Kraft Road, Fort Gratiot, Michigan 48059; the American Cancer Society, 37040 Garfield Road, Clinton Township, Michigan 48036; or Grace Episcopal Church, 1216 Sixth Street, Port Huron 48060.
Gabriel J. Paolozzi '42 on August 15, 1998, of cancer. He was seventy-eight and a resident of Ruston, Louisiana.
A French major at Kenyon, Gabe was a member of the basketball, football, golf, and lacrosse teams and Phi Kappa Sigma. In his senior year, he was vice president of the class and captain of the football team. Gabe, who served as a counterintelligence officer in North Africa and Europe during World War II, went on to earn a master's degree and Ph.D. in French from the University of California at Los Angeles. He then taught at the University of Nevada, a position he left to accept a position with the U.S. Foreign Service. Gabe served in Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, and Washington, D.C., with temporary duty in other Middle Eastern countries, until his retirement in 1970. That same year, he and his wife, Merete, moved to Ruston, where he accepted a position at Grambling State University, serving as professor and head of the Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics until his second retirement in 1990. While at Grambling, Gabe established a joint master's program with Louisiana Tech University in Romance languages.
Gabe is survived by his wife, Merete. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 2121 Fairfield Avenue, #150, Shreveport, Louisiana 71104.
William H. Burnett Jr. '45 on June 7, 1998. He was seventy-four and a resident of Seattle, Washington.
A biology major at Kenyon, Bill participated in cross country and track and joined Alpha Delta Phi, which he served as president in his senior year. After graduating cum laude, he went on to receive his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1947. Bill served an internship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hospital and residencies in internal medicine at Presbyterian and Women's Hospitals in Pittsburgh. He served for two years in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, spending one year at the U.S. Naval Hospital at Pensacola, Florida, and the other in a U.S. Army hospital in Korea, winning the Bronze Star for heroism under fire. From 1952 to 1974, Bill practiced internal medicine at the Burien Seahurst Medical Center in Seattle. In 1974, he and his wife, Carolyn, moved to Maui, Hawaii, where he practiced with the Maui Medical Group until he retired. They then returned to Seattle to be nearer their family. Bill's father was a member of the Class of 1921; his grandfather was in the Class of 1896.
Bill is survived by a daughter, Christie Anderson, and three sons, William H. III, Curtis S., and John H. Burnett. Memorial contributions may be made to Highline Community Hospital Foundation, 1010 South 146th Street, Seattle 98168.
James H. Bates '50 on July 10, 1998, of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was seventy and a resident of Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Jim, who majored in mathematics at Kenyon and graduated cum laude, was a diver on the swim team. Drafted for the Korean War, he attended the Artillery Officers Candidate School in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and then served in the artillery from 1952 to 1956. Jim continued as a reservist in the Seventh Battalion in the First Artillery Reserve Tactical Unit of Cleveland, Ohio, and attained the rank of major. He started his career in banking while in college, as a summer teller at the National Exchange Bank and Trust Company of Steubenville, Ohio. Jim joined the Cleveland Trust Company in 1950 as a teller and retired in 1984 as corporate secretary-treasurer of the Ameritrust Corporation. In 1985, he joined the law firm of Jones, Day, Reavis, and Pogue, where he worked in the employee-benefits section until retiring in 1994.
Jim is survived by his wife, Ellen Miller Bates; a daughter, Patricia A. Bates; two sons, Peter M. and James H. Bates '80; and ten grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Paul's Church, 15837 Euclid Avenue, East Cleveland 44112.
Willard R. Bell Jr. '50 on July 25, 1998, of a massive stroke. He was seventy-one and a resident of Solon, Ohio.
After World War II service in the U.S. Army on the hospital ship USS Hope, Will came to Kenyon as an economics major and joined Delta Phi. Following graduation, he joined a management-training program at Republic Steel Corporation. Will worked in Buffalo, New York, for several years, also serving as a lay minister, before moving to Solon in the 1960s. He left Republic after twenty-one years to become a vice-president of Metal Source until that company was absorbed by U.S. Steel Supply. Will then owned and operated Dyson Company, a fastener firm in Painesville, Ohio, before joining Cleveland City Forge from 1995 until his retirement.
An active alumnus of the College, Will served as a member and president of the Alumni Council in the 1980s. He was presented with a Distinguished Service Award in 1988.
Will is survived by his wife, Roxanne Tanner Bell; a daughter, Juanita "Tee" Bell '89; two sons, Carl T. and Willard "Rik" Bell III '83; and four grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Christopher's-by-the-River Episcopal Church, 7601 Old Mill Road, Gates Mills, Ohio 44040, or to the American Heart Association, 1689 East 115th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44106.
Rev. John H. Duff 1950 on June 5, 1997. He was sixty-eight and a resident of Gainesville, Florida.
John attended Kenyon for one year, during which he joined Phi Kappa Sigma, before transferring to New York University. After serving in the U.S. Army, he resumed his position as a special agent with the Home Insurance Company, where he remained for ten years. In 1963, John received a master's degree in divinity from Yale University. He was ordained in New York in June 1964 and later moved to Florida, where he served as a priest and, following his retirement, a supply priest.
John is survived by his wife, Joan Marie Martin Duff; two daughters, Deborah E. Finch and Anita Marie Smith; three sons, David M., Timothy A., and John M. Duff; ten grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and two brothers. Memorial contributions may be made to the Salvation Army, 639 East University Avenue, Gainesville 32601.
Richard D. Conant '52 on June 13, 1998. He was seventy-six and a resident of Kittery, Maine.
A U.S. Navy fighter pilot on the USS Cabot during World War II, Richard participated in every major engagement in the Central Pacific, flying more than eighty missions. He won the Purple Heart, three Air Metals for Distinguished Flying Service, and a Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon. At Kenyon, Richard earned a degree in psychology and joined Psi Upsilon. He went on to receive his master's degree and Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Boston University, after which he taught at Boston University, the University of California at Riverside, and the University of Portland (Oregon). Following his retirement to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Richard became a member of the Portsmouth Historical Association, the Warner House Association, the Stawbery Banke Museum, and the USS Cabot Association.
Richard is survived by his wife, Rita Fitzgerald Conant; two sons, Richard D. Jr. and Carleton Conant; three daughters, Mary L. Trifault, Laura Davis, and Emily Conant; and seven grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to the USS Cabot Association, Box 1096, Millville, New Jersey 08332.
Rev. Canon George N. Sayles '59 on April 8, 1998. He was sixty-one and a resident of Lincoln, Rhode Island.
A history major at Kenyon, George was a member of the Archon Society. He went on to earn a master's degree in sacred theology at Yale University, after which he was ordained in the Episcopal Church on December 27, 1962, and served parishes in the Diocese of Albany, New York, for seventeen years. George moved to Massachusetts in 1979, serving at St. Mark's Church in Worcester until 1983, when he was called to St. George's Church in Central Falls, Rhode Island. He joined the staff of the Cathedral of St. John in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1986, winning appointment as canon in 1990. George was a member of the Fellowship of the Holy Cross and the Order of St. Luke.
George is survived by his wife, Marilyn Ames Sayles; two daughters, Catherine Shepard and Elizabeth Sayles; three sons, Philip, Stephen, and John Sayles; and one sister.
Kemp L. Mitchell '65 on May 19, 1998. He was fifty-four and a resident of Laguna Beach, California.
A member of Alpha Delta Phi, Kemp graduated from Kenyon with a degree in economics. He served as a U.S. Navy chief engineer on the USS Hammerberg, a destroyer in the Atlantic Fleet, during the Vietnam War. Kemp was vice president and treasurer of Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York for seventeen years, after which he became an executive vice president of Security Pacific National Bank in Los Angeles, California, where he worked for seven years before retiring in 1991.
Kemp is survived by a brother, Blair D. Mitchell, two nephews, and an aunt.
James A. Robinson '67 on August 2, 1998, of cancer. He was fifty-three and a resident of College Park, Maryland.
A Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of Kenyon, Jamie majored in English and joined Phi Kappa Sigma. He went on to earn a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his Ph.D. from Duke University after spending three years with the Peace Corps in Africa. Jamie became an English professor at the University of Maryland, a position he held for seventeen years. He was also vice president of the national Eugene O'Neill Society and author of the book Eugene O'Neill and Oriental Thought. Jamie lectured on American and modern drama in the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program and for community groups and led post-performance discussions at Arena Stage in Baltimore, Maryland. He also taught workshops for teachers at the University of Maryland.
Jamie is survived by his mother, Eleanor Walker Robinson; his wife, Susan Porter Robinson; two daughters, Malia and Melanie Robinson; a son, Nathan Robinson; and a grandchild.
Robert A. Koller '75 on July 13, 1998. He was forty-five and a resident of Lake Worth, Florida.
At Kenyon, Bob majored in psychology and joined Delta Tau Delta. He went on to earn his master's degree in hospital administration from Ohio State University in 1977. In 1978, Bob was appointed to the administrative staff of Children's Hospital in Buffalo, New York, where he supervised hospital-based clinics. By 1982, he had moved to Illinois to become vice president at Decatur Memorial Hospital. Since 1995, Bob had been associate administrator at Harbours Edge in Delray Beach, Florida.
Bob is survived by his parents, Marjorie and William Koller; his wife, Linda Koller; a daughter, Kristin Koller; a son, Greg Koller; three brothers, William S. Koller '70, David K. Koller '78, and Richard L. Koller '72; and several nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions may be made to Lake Worth High School, Medicine and Health Professions Magnet, 1701 Lake Worth Road, Lake Worth 33460.
C. David Jackson '88 on August 14, 1998, of complications from an asthma attack. He was thirty-two and a resident of Raleigh, North Carolina.
A history major at Kenyon, Dave was a member of Delta Phi. He went on to earn a master's degree in public history at North Carolina State University (NCSU). Dave then served as head of special collections at the NCSU libraries. He was the guiding force in funding and implementing the libraries' North Carolina architectural archive and in developing the libraries' new Special Collections Department. Dave also initiated the use of digital technologies to make the department's holdings accessible via the Internet.
Dave is survived by his parents, Carol and Rev. Thomas Jackson; his wife, Margaret "Maggie" Jones Jackson '88; a daughter, Agnes "Acy" Jackson; and a sister, Laurie Kender. Memorial contributions may be made to the Kenyon Fund, Office of Development, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio 43022-9623.
Leslie Douglas Frye '90 on June 25, 1998, following an extended battle with cancer. She was thirty and a resident of Marietta, Ohio.
An English major at Kenyon, Leslie was a member of the women's basketball team, serving as captain and winning honors as most valuable player in her senior year. She was also elected to the All-Conference team in 1990. After graduation, Leslie worked on the development staff at Wittenberg University and later at Marietta College. She was most recently the assistant dean of development for the College of Health and Human Services at Ohio University.
After Leslie developed cancer in 1993, she became active in cancer-awareness activities. She spoke to groups and walked in events to draw attention to the fight against the disease. Leslie was also featured in the Winter 1996 issue of the Bulletin.
Leslie is survived by her husband, Bret R. Frye '88; her parents, Donald and Maxine Douglas; a brother; and three sisters. Memorial contributions may be made to the Leslie Frye Endowment Fund, Marietta Community Foundation, P.O. Box 77, Marietta 45750.
Eric S. Graham on July 23, 1998, of a stroke. He was seventy-seven and a resident of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
A native of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, Graham was educated at Queens University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He served in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals from 1942 to 1945. Graham was a member of the chemistry faculty at Kenyon from 1950 to 1961. He left Kenyon to become principal of Royal Roads Military College, where he served until his retirement in 1984.
Graham is survived by his wife, Barbara Pops Graham; two sons, Ian and David Graham; two grandsons; and two sisters.
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