SPECIAL MEMORIES OF SOME VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE

When you reach my age (93), some things fall out the back door of your memory bank, while others come to the fore. Along with my memories of childhood and youth, the ones that remain at the forefront are my days as a professor and the group of young men who became a unique “Band of Brothers” of student friends, who continue to dominate my random memories. Over my 60-plus-year teaching career, I have been blessed with several groups of student friends who have remained active in my life and thoughts. Here are some of their names.

Back in 1960, when I began my teaching career at Seattle Pacific College, I was surprised to be greeted by a group of students, mostly freshmen but also some upperclassmen, who went on to college and into my life with great promise and gusto. Together, we formed a close-knit group of friends centered on pushing the boundaries of knowledge. These ten fellows challenged me to teach them about philosophy, religion, and life. Surprisingly, many of us have remained close friends throughout these decades. Of course, some have departed at various stages of life.

Jim Matthews, Dale Cannon, and Del Wisdom are still kickin’, but Dale Rammerman, Rex Hollowell, Jim Watson, Warren Barnes, and Roger Dexter have moved on. Most of these fellows went on to earn Ph.D. degrees from renowned universities, while others found different paths to excel. I am absolutely honest when I say that, in the four years we were together, these young men taught me as much as I taught them. I am ever so happy and blessed to say I remained good friends with these fellows throughout their years.

Although I never again had such a large group of special students at the same time, over my long and full career I have been blessed with many students of the same caliber as those at my other places of higher education. At Southwestern at Memphis, Gay Welch and Larry Churchill each excelled and went on to earn doctoral degrees from Vanderbilt and Duke Universities. Harmon Wray died unexpectedly before he could finish his degree there. I have been fortunate to remain friends with these top students as well. At Eckerd College in Florida, I developed special relationships with many excellent students during my eight years there. Kathy Meacham earned her doctorate from Temple University; Malcolm Munson earned his doctorate from Vanderbilt; and David Jenkins earned doctoral degrees from both Loyola University Chicago and Uppsala University in Sweden.

      Brian Hamilton earned graduate degrees in theology from Western Kentucky and the University of Pennsylvania. Dennis O’Neil studied for the ministry and has served several churches over the years, as well as serving as a part-time soccer and baseball coach at several prep schools. When I moved to Saint Rose College in Albany, N.Y., I met Tim

Doherty and Brendan Lalor both earned doctorates at SUNY in Albany, Tim in the philosophy of art and Brendan in philosophy. Both went on to teach philosophy at the undergraduate level in Albany and Vermont, respectively. Both then began outstanding careers in philosophy. At SUNY in Albany, Tim taught at the College of St. Rose, while Brendan went on to teach at Central Oklahoma University and now teaches in Vermont. I later taught at Barrington College in Rhode Island. When Barrington College sank from beneath us, Dorothy Rogers transferred to Boston University, earned a Ph.D. in philosophy, and then went on to her current deanship at Montclair State University in New Jersey.

             Meanwhile, here in Tucson, during my long retirement, I taught regularly at Pima Community College. By far, the top student in my classes over those years was Stella McKenzie. She took many of my courses and “aced” them all. She not only wrote first-rate papers but also always participated meaningfully in class discussions. Fortunately for me, she has since been a regular participant in my “Zoom” class with a half dozen other former students, where we discuss various philosophical topics. Stella continues to shine here.

While Mari and I were living in Rhode Island, she built on her philosophy degree from Eastern College and earned her Master’s in philosophy from the University of Rhode Island. She then earned an “all but dissertation” Master’s degree from Boston University and began teaching philosophy part-time at St. Rose. She soon shifted her interests to ceramics at Skidmore College, where she earned her Master’s.   

So that’s my “resume” of the outstanding students who make up my teaching “Dossier.” Needless to say, I am immensely proud of these memories and the people who made them, people who have helped shape who and what I am. Several of those mentioned above are still engaged in my ongoing computerized class today.      

Thank “Youse guys” ever so much:O)