We regretfully inform you that Charles Burger Marvin ’59 died from ampullary cancer in the early morning of October 29, 2017. Charlie was born in Peoria, Illinois, grew up in Illinois, and graduated as a philosophy major from Illinois Wesleyan University. In what proved to be an impactful decision, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1959, attended intensive Russian language classes at Syracuse University and was stationed in Pakistan and Germany. Upon his Air Force discharge, he moved to New York City where he met his wife, Mary Jo Van Kirk when both were working for Colliers’ Encyclopedia. They were married in St. Paul’s Chapel, Trinity Parish, in New York City in June 1965.

Guided by his Air Force experiences in intelligence analysis, he was accepted into the Central Intelligence Agency Training program in 1966 and moved to the Washington, D.C., area. Charlie stayed in the intelligence business for the rest of his career, except for a brief stint as a real estate broker in Capitol Hill. He worked for the CIA, experimented with real estate sales, and then joined GTE Government Systems as an analyst of foreign communications systems until retirement.  At the same time, the Marvins bought and renovated eight houses in Georgetown, Capitol Hill, Arlington, Bethesda, and Potomac, Maryland.  Charlie was an avid motorcyclist from the time he was 19 until his early 60s; he renovated several antique motorcycles and was a member of the Classic and Vintage Motorcycle Association in Washington area.

Charlie retired in November of 1997 and  moved to Jaffrey Center, NH where he and Mary Jo bought and restored another old house. Charlie served three terms as Trustee of the Trust Funds in Jaffrey, as Treasurer of the Jaffrey Center Village Improvement Society, and a Trustee of the First Church in Jaffrey. The Jaffrey board of Selectmen named him Volunteer of the Year in 2011. In addition to volunteering in Jaffrey, Charlie was the treasurer of the Window Shop at the Monadnock Community Hospital for 18 years. Soon after moving to Jaffrey, Charlie was invited to join the OFC men’s lunch group and became a regular attendee. In 2012, the Marvins reluctantly downsized, selling their house on Thorndike Pond Road and moving to Governor Square in Peterborough. Charlie was a member of its condo board until illness forced him to resign. In later retirement, his passions included tackling the New York Times crossword puzzles, having a good craft beer with lunch, listening to the music of Gustav Mahler, and genealogy research.

Charlie will be deeply missed by all whose lives he touched.

We are sorry to announce Robert Goff ’45 passed away on August 17, 2017. You can view his obituary here.

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Bill Bringham, Sr ’48. Bill lived an extraordinarily long life of service to his family, the community and to Sigma Chi Fraternity in which he served as CEO for 36 years and was honored with selection as a Significant Sig and to the Order of Constantine, working with tens of thousands of Sigma Chi’s throughout the world.

During his collegiate years at Illinois Wesleyan, Bill joined the Navy and was stationed during World War II on Palymra Island in the Pacific Theatre. After graduation from IWU, Bill and his late wife, Ruth, moved to Nashville in pursuit of his Law Degree from Vanderbilt University. They then relocated to Falls Church, Va. for Bill’s service to the FBI, then to Chicago in the Trust Department at Continental Bank where he became re-involved with local Sigma Chi’s and started a 36 year career with Sigma Chi Fraternity and 30 years with the Sigma Chi Foundation.

You may read more about Bill’s life here: http://www.donnellanfuneral.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=2021645

We are sorry to announce that Betty Ritchie-Birrer ’47 passed away on September 27, 2017. Betty was selected as the 2017 Alumni Loyalty Award winner and was looking forward to coming to Homecoming this year to receive the award. You can read her obituary here.

I am saddened to report the death of B. Charles (Chuck) Ames, a 1950 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan whose vision and love for the University will continue to impact Titans for generations to come.

Chuck died on Sept. 22 at age 92 at his home in Cleveland. A memorial in celebration of his life will be held at The Country Club in Cleveland on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 11 a.m.

A graduate of Harvard Business School and prominent businessman, Chuck served as President and CEO of Reliance Electric, CEO of Acme Cleveland, CEO of Uniroyal-Goodrich Company, and as Operating Partner and Vice Chair at the private equity investment firm Clayton, Dubilier and Rice in New York City.

Chuck was a philanthropist at heart, with his alma mater among his favorite beneficiaries. Together with his wife Joyce “Jay” Eichhorn Ames ’49, their generous support included the largest gift in Illinois Wesleyan history – an endowment gift valued at $25 million to launch the Transforming Lives campaign in 2009.

A $14-million leadership gift from Chuck and Jay also enabled construction of The Ames Library, which was completed in 2002. Following an endowment gift for student scholarships – as a romantic surprise from Chuck – the Joyce Eichhorn Ames School of Art was named in Jay’s honor in 1998, and the couple funded an expansion to the building in 2011, including the 2,400-square-foot glass rotunda and entrance lobby.

Chuck was driven by a vision that continues to inspire us, challenging alumni in 1998 to join in his and Jay’s belief and support for Illinois Wesleyan to become one of the top national liberal arts institutions in the United States. We are grateful for their gracious wish to see future students benefit as they did from their education here, as they explained to alumni and friends in launching the most successful campaign in our history: “We would not be who we are were it not for Wesleyan.”

President Jensen