We regret to inform you of the passing of Bobby Winkles ‘52. Bobby Winkles ’52 died April 17, 2020. He was 90. Bobby played baseball and basketball at Illinois Wesleyan, and was active in Sigma Chi. He played in Minor League Baseball for seven years before being offered the job of Arizona State University’s first head baseball coach. Bobby built the program from scratch and turned it into a national power by winning three national championships in his 13 years at the helm. He posted a combined record of 524-173, coached 16 All-Americans and was named NCAA Coach of the Year three times. He later managed for four years in Major League Baseball with the California Angels and Oakland Athletics, and also spent several seasons in a variety of roles with the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox and Montreal Expos. Bobby was inducted into the ASU Hall of Fame in 1982, the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1997 and College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. He was named Illinois Wesleyan’s Distinguished Alumni Award winner in 1971. Click here to read about Bobby’s legacy as the former Arizona State baseball coach.

We are saddened to inform you that Kenneth R. Winter ’56 passed away on February 17, 2020.

We are saddened to inform you that Helen Mae LaCroix (Johnson) ’53 passed away February 10th, at the age of 88. She was born on January 22, 1932 in Chicago. At Illinois Wesleyan University she met Chuck LaCroix, and during their marriage the two had five children. She was a wonderful mother who valued the time she had with her loved ones. Her art has been exhibited in several art galleries, and she taught workshops at Gorton Community Center. She is survived by four children and four grandchildren.

Read the full obituary here.

Helen LaCroix monoprint as displayed by The Robert T. Wright Community Gallery of Art.

We regret to inform you of the passing of Robert Conrad Price ’50, who passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by loved ones on January 25, 2020. Here is his full obituary.

Charles Gaines ’53 ’54 died Nov. 11, 2018. He was 86. Charles studied music at Illinois Wesleyan, where he was active in many music-related organizations and professional societies, and earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees at IWU. He taught elementary school music and managed church music programs in Illinois and, later, New York, while he pursued a doctorate from Union Theological Society. Charles began his academic career at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, in 1965. He remained chair of the school’s department of fine arts until shortly before his retirement in 1998. He also served as director of music for the First Presbyterian Church of Clinton and the First Presbyterian Church of Greenwood, South Carolina, and founded and directed the Laurens County (S.C.) Chorale. Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford conferred The Order of the Silver Crescent, the South Carolina Legislature recognized his leadership in a proclamation, and the mayor of Greenwood later proclaimed June 15, 2012 as Charles T. Gaines Day. Charles is survived by his wife Jean (Reichert) Gaines ’53, three children, including Deborah (Gaines) Abbott ’76 and Betsy (Gaines) Bone ’82, and eight grandchildren.

We regret to inform you of the passing of Dale D. Garrett ‘50, who passed away on December 29, 2019. Read Dale’s full obituary here.