Deceased December 5, 2015
View alumni profile (log in required)
Read obituary
In Memory
He attended Amherst for only our freshman year, but who does not remember the engaging presence, the mellifluous bass voice, the strong command of the English language! I remember his circulating around James Hall during freshman week, empowering us to join together and face whatever might confront us. He then settled in to enjoy things like English 1-2 and the productions at Kirby Theatre. In the spring he drew number 1 in the housing lottery, allowing our group of four to choose any room on campus for our sophomore year.
But he was a true Hoosier, and the lure of Indiana was too strong, so he didn’t make the trip east that following September. Instead he completed his education—two degrees—at Indiana University. For the most part he remained in that part of the world, following a career which always revolved around the written and spoken word: teaching, writing, editing, speaking and, yes, even a bit of politics. He was also involved in a host of civic activities, including the local library (of course) and various fraternal organizations.
In its own way, the class of 1960 kept an eye on him with various classmates spending time in Bloomington. These included Bill Forgie ’60, Paul Strohm ’60, John Richardson ’60, Lew Miller ’60 and Terry Borton ’60.
Then in 2005 he was suddenly at our 45th Reunion with his wife, Suzie, after this long interval. Just as we remembered, he was ready and eager to engage in conversation and friendly banter on almost any subject of your choosing. And he returned again for the 50th in 2010.
To Suzie and his family, we offer our condolences. He was a memorable member of the class and will be greatly missed.
Gordon Holmes ’60