Jim ’41 and Mary ’43 Winn, who met while studying music at Illinois Wesleyan, are being honored through a scholarship in their name for Clinton Community College students who are active in sharing their musical talents with the community. Read the Clinton Herald article here.
Kathleen (Ross) Gardner ‘59 and William H. Gardner celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on December 22nd, 2022. They married in Christ Church in Riverdale, New York and have lived in Tucson, Arizona for 36 years. She notes that IWU will always be special to her, and that she remains a member of Alpha Gamma Delta Alpha
Artist Oliver Lee Jackson ’58 was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from the University of Iowa for his creative and scholarly works. Read the full Gazette article here.
Wilberta (Naden) Pickett ’50 recently reflected on her time at Illinois Wesleyan University and the love of music that the University instilled in her.
“[This] photo was taken at home during the Christmas season in 2020, 3 weeks before my husband John died. We were both 92 1/2. See how good he looked as we sat on the piano bench together.
John was a good pianist, too. That’s how we met. When we were both 14, our mutual piano teacher, who traveled to different area schools to teach students there, introduced us when she assigned him and me (from different schools) to play the final two-piano duo on the upcoming spring recital. Our piece was an arrangement of Saint-Saens’ ‘Danse Macabre’ which we later said became our ‘Dance of Life.’ So for many Saturdays we had to travel from our home districts on a bus to her main studio to practice together where there were two pianos. Afterwards we would go to the Rexall Drugstore and get one soda with two straws. Big deal for two Great Depression kids.
We dated off and on in high school, and when I was at Wesleyan, he sometimes came by train from the other Bloomington, from Indiana University, to see me. Sometimes he stayed with other male classmates (called ‘The Four Horsemen’) or at Dr. and Mrs. Lowell Hazzard’s, the home of the Professor of Religion, where students were always welcome.
When we were married, my organ teacher, Lillian (Mecherle) McCord ’27, and Lloyd Pfautsch, choral director for whom I did much accompanying, played and sang at our wedding at the First Methodist Church in Elwood, Indiana. They were the ones who encouraged me to attend Union Theological Seminary’s School of Sacred Music for my master’s degree where they both had graduated. You can see Wesleyan had a big role in my life. Wesleyan School of Music had offered me a scholarship to stay for a master’s degree in piano performance, but I turned it down (the road not taken) to pursue a career in church music which turned out to be right for me.
Actually, as a very small child, my first piano teacher was an IWU recent grad at the time, Luetta May (Zahn) Cummins ’32 (called Peggy). Her new husband, Robert Cummins, Sr., was the new band director in town – St. Anne, IL., and when in our home, she noticed I responded to the music of the male quartet rehearsing there made up of her husband, my dad and two other men, and asked my mother if she could teach me. I was four years old. I loved it and have been playing ever since. After we moved north a few miles to Grant Park, IL., all our public school music teachers were Wesleyan grads.”
Mary Kate “Katie” Reeder Brandon Fraley ’58 passed away on November 1, 2022 in Taylorville, Illinois. Born in Dewitt, Illinois in 1936, Katie was a dynamic elementary school teacher who influenced countless students over four decades in the classroom. She received her bachelor’s degree in education from Illinois Wesleyan University and was a member of Sigma Kappa. As part of her lasting legacy, her grandson Samuel also graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in history and secondary education. You can read Katie’s full obituary here.
Dick Hewitt ’46 died after a long life and short illness in April, 2020. Late in his sophomore year, he enlisted in the Army – IWU granted all the new GIs a “complete” for their classes for this semester – and eventually shipped out to Europe, where he fought in major battles of WWII, D-Day, Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. He finished his education at Northwestern and Columbia, where he earned his first of two Master’s degrees. He spent his career in education, as a college counselor, a high school teacher and subsequently a high school administrator, principally in Northbrook, IL. In retirement, he and his wife Joyce traveled extensively and took advantage of the musical bounty of Chicago. He played piano and sang until he was in his late 80s, and never forgot his happy time at Wesleyan and the delight of being a part of the music department. His survivors include three children and five grandchildren, and he leaves a legacy of many laughter-filled times spent in his company.
Rhea Fae (Truxell) Kerkera ’54 passed away on February 22, 2021. She was born on February 2, 1932 in Edinburg, Illinois. Rhea was a member of Sheridan First United Methodist Church, and did volunteer work for almost fifty years. She is survived by her son, daughter, and many friends.
Harlan Dalluge ’58 recently shared memories of his time at Illinois Wesleyan in a letter. “I was so sad to get your most recent Class Newsletter that noted the death of Jim Wasem, Karl Tauber, and Bob Cushman,” he writes. “All three were teammates of mine over those four years when we won various titles and many baseball games. Jim Wasem and Bob Cushman were dependable infielders. Karl Tauber was an outstanding catcher….all were exceptionally talented, capable, and personable.”
Harlan also shared “a couple of old (very old)” newspaper clippings:
Jack K. Stephens ’57 of Monmouth, IL. passed away Monday, July 11, 2022. Jack was born May 30, 1931 in Joplin, MO, the son of Lyman Kenneth and Lola Margaret (Perry) Stephens. He was raised and educated in Normal, IL, graduating from Normal High School in 1949. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music Education from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1957 and later his Master of Music degree in 1961. Jack married Joy Ruth Fairchild ’62 in Heyworth, IL on August 10, 1961. Ruth passed away on July 12, 2022. View the full obituary here.
Joseph Roderick Myshrall graduated from IWU in 1952 and was a member of the baseball team. His son, John Myshrall, has recently written a book about his WWII service and other aspects of his life, including his time at IWU. The book is entitled Thunderbird Has Done It Again: Ernie Pyle & General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Favorite WWII Story – Part 2 and can be found on Amazon Books.