·J. Bridwell Dies; Was Associate Professor Emeritus
Of Geography And Earth Science
·R. Koepke Dies: Was Emeritus Professor Of Geography
And Earth Science
·K. Sanders Dies; Was Member Of SIU Board Of Trustees
·J. Kendall Dies; Was Music Professor Emeritus
·M. Matta Dies; Was Professor Emeritus Of Chemistry
·B. Teters Dies; Was Retired SIUE Provost
James G. Bridwell, associate professor emeritus of geography and earth science and a decorated World War II aviator, career Air Force officer, business owner and senior Olympian, died Tuesday, March 15, of complications related to a stroke. He was 91 and resided in Edwardsville.
A native of Pittsburg, Ill., Bridwell volunteered for the Civilian Military Training Corps at the age of 15 and later joined the Civilian Conservation Corps as a lumberjack. During World War II, Bridwell served in the Army Air Corps and flew over the Himalayas in unpressurized aircraft, braving heavy ground fire to resupply allied forces. He earned three Distinguished Flying Crosses.
Bridwell often told the story that in 1952 he flew across country with Charles Lindbergh and was so proud that Lindbergh asked Bridwell to teach the great aviator how to fly themodern aircraft. Bridwell also said during his Air Force career he flew Army generals, including Dwight Eisenhower, on military visits and also entertainers such as Bob Hope, Gary Moore and Shirley Temple across the country to military installations to perform for soldiers. Bridwell eventually became an instructor of Air Force ROTC cadets at SIU Carbondale and was part of the Strategic Air Command until retiring from the Air Force in 1965 as a lieutenant colonel.
After retirement from the service, Bridwell and his wife, Maxine, moved to Edwardsville, where he purchased the Montclair Liquor Store, while at the same time taking graduate courses at SIU Edwardsville. There he earned a master's in geography, eventually began teaching at the University in 1967, and later chaired what was then known as the Department of Earth Science, Geography and Planning. During the 1979 Illinois Senior Olympics, Bridwell won four gold medals as well as a silver and a bronze. He retired from SIUE in 1980. Later, Bridwell purchased an ice cream parlor and snack shop in Maryville. He also served a term as an alderman for the city of Edwardsville and lost a bid for mayor.
A funeral service is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. today at Rodney and Weber Funeral Home in Edwardsville. Interment will take place at Valley View Cemetery in Edwardsville.
Robert Koepke, long-time advocate for economic and industrial development in the Metro East and Southwestern Illinois, and a professor emeritus of geography and earth science, died Thursday, Feb. 17. He was 74.
Koepke was named an assistant professor of geography at SIUE in 1966 in what was then known as the Social Sciences Division. He had been teaching at the University for two years before that. By 1979, Koepke was a professor of earth science, geography and planning, and also had been appointed by then-Provost Earl Lazerson as coordinator of area development for the University. The appointment was part of the University's move to become even more involved in economic development in the region.
Later, the area development unit merged with the Office of Regional Research and Development Services, and Koepke was named associate director of the new unit. He returned to teaching in what was then known as the Department of Geography and Earth Science in 1988. During the 11 years he was involved with the University's area development efforts, Koepke provided economic development assistance and expertise to communities throughout Southwestern Illinois, and continued in that role with various organizations even after he retired from SIUE in 1995.
He most recently served on the I-55 Corridor Planning Team, The Charles Melvin Price Army Material Support Center Redevelopment Team and The Commonwealth Edison Economic Development Education Team. He also had been a consultant to the Illinois Metro East Corporation, the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council and the Linclay Corporation. Koepke had been vice president of the Illinois Geographical Society, a member of the board of the Great Lakes States Industrial Development, a member of the Economic Development Committee of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis and a member of the Business Climate and Economic Development Committee of the St. Louis Regional Industrial Development Corporation.
A native of Berwyn, Koepke was a research assistant while studying at SIU Carbondale and graduated with a bachelor's in geography in 1958. He attended the University of Wisconsin, studying for a year before going on to the University of Illinois where he earned a master's in geography in 1961. He earned a doctorate at the U of I in 1965.
Over his career, Koepke received a host of regional and national awards including Honorary Life Member of International Economic Development Council (since 1990), the 1987 Richard Preston Award for Educational Merit from the AEDC Educational Foundation, the International Economic Development Council 2008 Chairman's Award and the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award.
A memorial visitation is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23, to meet family and friends, at Weber and Rodney Funeral Home, 304 N. Main St., Edwardsville. A memorial service has been scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, at St. John United Methodist Church, 7372 Marine Road, Edwardsville. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the building fund of St. John's United Methodist Church or to The Gardens at SIUE, SIUE Foundation, Edwardsville, IL 62026-1082. Messages of condolence may be sent to Jean Koepke, 2 Orchid Ct., Edwardsville, IL 62025.
Keith R. Sanders, a member of the SIU Board of Trustees since 2004 and former executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), died Jan. 12 from complications of pulmonary fibrosis. He was 71.
A Benton native, Sanders was an SIU Carbondale graduate, holding both a bachelor of science and a master of science in speech/psychology. He earned a doctorate in communications at the University of Pittsburgh. In addition, Sanders currently was studying for another graduate degree at the University of Chicago.
Sanders' distinguished career in higher education spanned five decades, including serving as the executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education from 1998 until his retirement in 2002, various appointments in the University of Wisconsin system from 1989 to 1997, including senior vice president and COO for the University of Wisconsin System and chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. Sanders’ academic service at SIUC included stints as dean of the former College of Communication and Fine Arts from 1983 to 1989 and as professor in communications from 1967 to 1989. His tenure on the SIU Board will be most remembered for his promotion of affordable access to a public higher education degree. Sanders, who served as chair of the board's Finance Committee, was a strong voice on the board in support of last year’s enactment of a tuition rate freeze.
In 2006, Sanders and his wife, Carol, endowed an alumni scholarship at SIUC to support the academic goals of high-achieving, low-income students from Franklin County. At last month’s board meeting, Sanders pledged the first financial contribution to the newly proposed Student Success Center on the Carbondale campus. "The thoughts and prayers of our entire university community go out to today to Carol and her family for their loss," SIU President Glenn Poshard said. "Dr. Sanders' contributions to this University over the last 50 years have been many; but in my view, his greatest gift was the constant vigil he kept for those least able to afford a college education. No one was truer to the mission of this University and its role of lifting students of modest means into this country's great middle class than Dr. Sanders."
SIUE Chancellor Vaughn Vandegrift said Sanders had a profound understanding of higher education that paid "great dividends to our University" and also noted: "During his service on the Board of Trustees, he was particularly committed to access and affordability for our students and influenced development of scholarship programs. Public higher education and SIU have lost a great servant."
A memorial service is being planned for later this year at SIU Carbodnale.
Music Professor Emeritus John Dryden Kendall, founder of the internationally known Suzuki String Program at SIUE and one of the earliest proponents of the Suzuki String Teaching Method in the United States, died Jan. 6 at Arbor Hospice in Ann Arbor, Mich. He was 93.
Kendall joined SIUE in 1963 in what was then known as the fine arts division after serving on the music faculty for 17 years at Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio. While there, Kendall served as director of the Muskingum Conservatory and was chair of the college's arts division. He previously held faculty positions at Drury College in Springfield, Mo., and at Iowa State University.
A native of Kearney, Neb., Kendall received a baccalaureate in music and chamber music studies in 1939 at Oberlin College Conservatory in Ohio and earned a master of music education six years later at Columbia Teachers College in New York City. He also studied at the Dalcroze and Juilliard schools, at Indiana University and with Ivan Galamian before coming to SIUE. From 1943-46 Kendall served in the Civilian Public Service, an alternative at the time to military service.
Kendall said he first discovered the "listen-and-play" teachings of Shinichi Suzuki while at Muskingum when he viewed a newsreel at an American String Teachers Association meeting in 1958. "We were amazed," he said, "to see as many as 1,000 violinists, ages six to 14, performing in unison without a conductor and without printed notes …" That moment proved life changing as Kendall began the first of several trips to Japan to study the method under Suzuki. In fact, it was Kendall who asked Suzuki to help adapt the method for children in the United States. Although he would demure at such accolades, Kendall was often credited with being the first educator to bring the method to North America. Kendall eventually traveled throughout the world touting the method as a viable way to teach strings and piano.
The SIUE Suzuki String Program, which Kendall founded, became known internationally for its use of Suzuki's methods. In turn, educators from throughout the globe came to SIUE to study under Kendall. After retiring from SIUE in 1987, he continued to teach at the University, and also tirelessly conducted numerous workshops and seminars throughout the United States and in several countries as a proponent of the Suzuki teaching method. His work as a music educator spanned more than five decades.
After leaving SIUE in 1994, Kendall and his wife, Kay, relocated to Takoma Park, Md., to be closer to their three children. The couple often returned to Edwardsville because of their interest in the Watershed Nature Center they helped create. She preceded him in death in 1998 and in 2005 Kendall followed his son, Christopher, to Ann Arbor where the younger Kendall had been named dean of music at the University of Michigan. A memorial service is being planned for spring. Memorials be made to Nature Preserve Foundation Inc., P.O. Box 843, Edwardsville, IL 62025.
Michael S. Matta of Edwardsville, professor emeritus of chemistry, died Jan. 3 at his home. He was 70.
Joining the faculty at SIUE in 1969 in what was then known as the Science and Technology Division, Matta was a mentor to numerous SIUE chemistry students who received their master of science in chemistry. In 1973, Matta was awarded the SIUE Teaching Excellence Award, the highest honor paid to faculty at the University. He was department chair from 1980-83 and retired in 1996.
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Matta received a bachelor of science in chemistry from the University of Dayton in 1962 and earned a doctorate in organic chemistry at Indiana University in 1966. He then spent two years in postdoctoral work at Amherst College in biochemistry. He also served as a senior research assistant at Monsanto Corp. in Miamisburg, Ohio, from 1966-68. Matta published extensively in scientific journals about organic synthesis, enzymology and microbiologic profiling. The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health as well as Vitek Systems Inc., of St. Louis, sponsored his research activities. Matta also held patents for the synthesis of several important chemicals.
For the past 34 years, Matta wrote or contributed to college and high school level chemistry textbooks, some of which were translated into Spanish, Italian and Bahsa Indonesian. The eighth edition of Pearson Chemistry was released in late 2010. He also was known locally for his fine woodworking and watercolors, and was a member of the Edwardsville Area Woodworkers Club, displaying his work at local shows.
Visitation will take place from 4-8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 6, at Weber and Rodney Funeral Home in Edwardsville, with a memorial service scheduled at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 7, at the funeral home with Deacon Dan Corbett, of St. Boniface Church in Edwardsville, officiating. Condolences may be expressed online at weberfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to KETC-TV (Ch. 9), 3655 Olive St, MO 63108; or St Louis Public Radio, One University Blvd, St Louis, MO 63121.
Barbara Joan Teters, retired SIUE provost, died Jan. 1 at Sunshine Gardens Nursing Home In Spokane Valley, Wash. She was 84.
Before joining the University as provost in 1981, Teters was vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas at Monticello for two years and from 1973-78 was professor of political science and chair of that department at Mississippi State University. She held faculty rankings from 1960 to 1973 at the University of Iowa, teaching East Asian politics and history, comparative politics and international relations. During the 1950s, Teters taught at the University of Montana and also overseas.
A native of Wenatchee, Wash., about 150 miles east of Seattle, Teters received a bachelor's in 1946 from the University of Michigan, and a master's in 1949 and a doctorate in 1955 in political science, both from the University of Washington. Her dissertation studied "The Conservative Opposition in Japanese Politics, 1877-1894."
Teters' five years as provost at SIUE—where she held the rank of professor of government and public affairs, later political science—was fraught with controversy as she oversaw many personnel changes and streamlining of academic procedures, bringing criticism from several members of the faculty. She created new programs at SIUE, including September Option, which allowed students to take classes between the summer and fall quarters (when SIUE was on the quarter system), and Weekend University, a program of classes scheduled on Saturdays. Both programs continued for several years after Teters announced her retirement in 1986.
She resided in Edwardsville until the early 1990s and then moved to Priest Lake in Northern Idaho, where she built a cabin near property where her grandfather had resided. Her nephew, Daniel Teters, said that after her retirement, and while still in Edwardsville, his aunt aided international students and Asian families coming to this country, helping them acclimate to the culture. She also was a voracious reader, he said.
A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 8, at The Holy Cross Cemetery Chapel in Spokane.