Author Archives: classnews

William Whiteside ’51

We are deeply sorry to announce the passing of William Whiteside ’51 on June 8th, 2017. William was a resident of Wilmington, Illinois at the time of passing. He was raised and educated in Wilmington, and graduated from the Wilmington Public Schools with the class of 1945. Bill went onto honorably serve in the United States Navy along with the United States Air Force.

You may read his full obituary here: http://www.frbfuneral.com/notices/William-Whiteside

Robert Erdman ’51

We are deeply sorry to announce the passing of Robert Erdman ’51 on July 8th, 2017. After Illinois Wesleyan, Bob graduated from the University of Illinois in 1957 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. Prior to attending the University of Illinois, he served in the US Army. After working as an engineer with Univac and Control Data in Minnesota, he was employed in marketing and sales with Memorex and Verbatim corporations in California. Upon retirement, he served as a volunteer at the Hiller Aviation Museum.

You may read his obituary here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mercurynews/obituary.aspx?pid=186046816

W. Richard Shindle ’59

W. Richard Shindle (’59) has been awarded the Marquis Who’s Who Humanitarian Award. He was presented with a beautiful desk piece to commemorate this induction. From health care to international outreach, Marquis Who’s Who Humanitarians are individuals who strive to make a positive impact on their communities and the world. Congratulations, Dr. Shindle!

Here is a link to the World Wide Humanitarian Website, where you can read more about Richard’s achievements: https://worldwidehumanitarian.com/2017/07/06/richard-shindle/

We also have a note from Dr. Shindle regarding his time at IWU –

“Receiving this award from Marquis Who’s Who has giving pause to reconsider the impact of my years (1955-1959) at Illinois Wesleyan. The Korean War had delayed my college education, but it was in those years I had become aware and read the events surrounding the Bicentennial of J. S. Bach’s death (1950), which lead to the planning and early publication of the Neue Bach Ausgabe, then in the early 1950s, the preparation for the bicentennial of Mozart’s birth (1956) with the publications of the earliest volume of the Neue Mozart Ausgabe. My interest shifted more to Musicology as a discipline than music performance. During my years at Illinois Wesleyan, I can point to the classes that were most beneficial to me: Freshman Music Literature under Dr. John Silber; Form and Analyses, Counterpoint both 18th and 16th centuries, and also its application by the atonalists Schoenberg and Webern under Dr. Wilbur Ogdon. During my senior year, Dr. Ogdon took over the second semester of Music History for the regular professor who was on Leave of Absence. He gave many new insights with a fine sense of chronology from the Baroque to the middle of the 20th Century. I should also acknowledge the encouragement I received during those years form Dr. Bedford Watkins, my piano professor.”

Judith (McDonald) Thomas ’58

Judith (McDonald) Thomas ’58 taught a 2-week Orff Schulwerk Certification course at the University of Cincinnati this past summer.  She also played the Gershwin Preludes and solo version of Rhapsody in Blue for the Saratoga Springs Jewish Festival prior to that.  February of 2017 took her to San Francisco to present a workshop on Nurturing Wonder in Children through the Arts which was repeated in NYC in May.  Judith resides with her husband in Saratoga Springs, NY.