In
Memoriam
Six Alumni Recognized for Distinguished Service
| Photo by: Jim Lyga |
 |
| Award recipients gather outside Eaton Chapel after the Alumni Assembly during Homecoming. (Back row, from left): Judy Logback'95, Jai Balkissoon'80, and Clyde Boutelle'55; (front row): Phyllis Wolff Banucci'65, Gene Banucci'65, President John Burris, and John Erickson'49. |
Five alumni were presented with Distinguished Service Citations and one alumna received the Young Alumni Award during Homecoming/Reunion festivities in October. The six recipients, selected by the Alumni Association for their outstanding service, represent five decades of the best that the College produces.
John Erickson’49 distinguished himself at Beloit as a government major, president of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, and star basketball and tennis player. He was inducted into Beloit’s Athletic Hall of Honor in 1968.
After an early start teaching and coaching at his alma mater and in Midwest regional schools, Erickson served as head basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin for 10 years, earning Midwest Coach of the Year honors in 1962. A stint as vice president and general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks followed, in which he led the team to an NBA championship in 1971. He ran for the U.S. Senate on the GOP ticket in 1970, served as the national president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and later as director and assistant commissioner of basketball for the Big Eight Conference.
At Beloit, he served as an alumni trustee from 1974-1977 and chaired a successful $6-million campaign for the construction of the Sports Center in the mid-1980s.
Clyde Boutelle’55 met Coach Erickson during his first weeks at Beloit and went on to play under Erickson his first year. Competing in football, tennis, and basketball, this economics major was equally at home in and out of the classroom, holding a class officer position and membership in the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
While running a local real estate and insurance business, he also served as a Beloit city councilor, police and fire commissioner, and a past president of the Beloit Rotary Club. He has offered both good counsel and continuing support to his alma mater for the last 50 years.
Having met at Beloit College, Gene’65 and Phyllis Wolff Banucci’65 have long enjoyed a successful partnership. In 1986, Gene co-founded ATMI (Advanced Technology Materials, Inc.), a major semi-conductor and materials company based in Danbury, Conn. Phyllis drew on her background as an anthropology major as she built ATMI’s human resources department; she now serves as the company’s director of internal communications. Gene’s chemistry degree provided a solid foundation for his years leading the firm.
Their commitment to giving back to Beloit is evident in Gene’s work as a trustee of the College, Phyllis’ membership on the board’s Admissions and Student Affairs committee, their shared work for the College’s Campaign Leadership Committee, and the establishment of the Banucci Family Endowed Scholarship for students in chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, music, and anthropology.
Even before he enrolled at Beloit, Jai Balkissoon’80 knew that his interests lay in medicine and caring for people. After graduating, he went on to study medicine at Howard University College of Medicine before embarking on a career as a surgeon.
Now living in Piedmont, Calif., Dr. Balkissoon is a surgical oncologist, focusing on the prevention and treatment of cancer and conducting research to find cures for the disease in adult and pediatric patients, a mission he shares with his wife, who is also a doctor.
This year’s Young Alumni Award was presented to Judy Logback’95 for her work with the Jatun Sacha Foundation. A double-major in environmental biology and Spanish, she arrived in Ecuador in 1997 and helped establish the Kallari Association—a grass-roots coalition that markets handicrafts and cocoa products made by the native Kichwa people from sustainable resources. Logback maintains strong ties to Beloit, returning to campus each year to sell Kallari products and inform new generations of students about the need for preserving the rich cultures and capital assets of the Amazon.
— N. Marie Dries’92
RELATED LINK:
"Alumni Return to Beloit," Beloit College Magazine, Fall/Winter 2005
In Words and Photographs: Author Brings Together Voices
Photo by:
Robert Eddy/First Light Studios |
 |
| Marjorie Ryerson'65 |
Marjorie Ryerson’65 lives in Randolph, Vt., and has no
physical ties to the devastated Gulf Coast area, yet her
exquisite writing and photography can be seen as telling the
Hurricane Katrina story. Ryerson’s two books, published in
the past two years by the University of Michigan Press, deal
with an essential of life—water as a source of critical sustenance—and
also the inevitability of death.
Both books evolved out of a health crisis in the
author’s recent past. Ryerson
had been working on a series of
essays titled Companions for the
Passage, about the intimacy of
accompanying the dying,
prompted by her father’s death.
She had collected 43 essays for
the book, before becoming ill.
When she emerged from a coma
brought on by viral pneumonia,
she was not prepared to return to
the book project but instead
immersed herself in a challenging,
global project that went beyond the
scope of a book.
Water Music, the result of her
efforts, is a beautiful, large-format
volume filled with Ryerson’s photography
and the expressions of dozens
of musicians. It is also a non-profit
organization, a program of the United
Nations, an international movement,
and an obsession.
Water Music began 10 years ago
when Ryerson began adjusting her itineraries
to focus her camera on new
water settings. When she presented her
collection of photos to publishers, everyone
told her that books of photos—even
collections by people like Ansel Adams—were difficult to
sell. A prominent Boston publisher was impressed, but said
the book would never fly without a voice.
Composer and saxophonist Paul Winter, whose Consort
group celebrates world traditions and the natural environment,
had already agreed to write the introduction for the
book, but that was just the first step. Over the next five
years, working her way through multiple musical genres, she
approached her own musical heroes, asking them to join the
book by contributing musical manuscripts, poetry, essays,
and stories, all related to water.
She moved from pianists Vladimir Ashkenazy and
Emanuel Ax to conductor and singer Bobby McFerrin; from
singer/songwriter Kenny Loggins to violinists Midori
and Mark O’Connor. All agreed to participate, as did dozens of
others. Finally, one night, after Grateful Dead rhythmist
Mickey Hart committed to the project by email, Marjorie’s
55th musician was on board. She raised her arms in a victory
salute and declared, “It is done. I have enough musicians.”
She didn’t know then that another 11 renowned
musicians would join the project before the year’s end.
By the time her publisher sent the manuscript to
Barcelona to be printed, Ryerson had assembled a
180-page book with 66 musicians’ written contributions and 100 photographs
of the calm, the enraged, the
pure, the muddy, the clear, and the
crashing waters of the world.
Ryerson donates her royalty profits
from the sale of the book to the Water
Music Fund of the United Nations
Foundation—created at her
request—to support projects advancing
water as a resource for the earth
and its inhabitants. Last month,
after retiring from teaching communications
at Castleton State College
in Vermont, Ryerson was racing to
Delft to present two concert readings
of her work for the UNESCO
Institute of Water Education, then
on to Düsseldorf for a third concert,
and then back to
Washington, D.C., to receive the
prestigious Harry E. Schlenz
Medal in Public Education from
the Water Environment
Federation. Last year she was
also given the Paul Keough
Award for Water Music. And
framed on her dining room
wall is a cherished personal
letter of praise about Water
Music, sent to her by His
Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Once Water Music was completed, Ryerson returned to her
earlier project, started before her illness.
After sharing some of the 43 interviews she had accumulated for Companions
for the Passage with her Michigan editor, she learned that the
press wanted to publish that book, too. Working
closely with her editor, she selected just over a dozen of the interviews
that deal with “the very finest love and connection possible
in human relationships,” experienced by individuals who
had shared and witnessed the final passage of life with a
loved one.
Like her photos, the stories in Companions for the Passage are powerful narratives that reflect a broad
variety of experiences and voices. “These stories are examples not only of challenging
sacrifice but also of the deepest rewards possible,”
Ryerson says. “These stories teach us how to be open to this
remarkable journey. They teach us about what truly matters.”
More about Water Music is on the Web:
http://www.water-music.org.
— Ron Nief
Wild and Extreme
 |
| Ed Wilde and Pam Miller Withers'78 began a long friendship at Beloit College. |
Ed Wilde is a former Beloit math professor whose other passion was running Beloit’s outdoor club during the 1960s and ’70s. Pam Miller Withers’78 is a best-selling author who likes to credit Wilde with a portion of her success as an adventure writer.
Withers met Wilde her first semester at Beloit. She was reporting for the Round Table on a kayak race in the College’s swimming pool, and after interviewing Wilde and his students, she decided to sign up.
Though Wilde took her on, no one thought she’d take kayaking very far. Years later, Wilde confessed to Withers that after watching her struggle with the kayak roll for a long time, he nearly told her to give up. Eventually Withers mastered the maneuver, launched her kayaking career on the Turtle Creek, and also took over the editorship of the Round Table.
A year after the English major graduated and took her first job editing a whitewater-kayaking magazine in California, she sent Wilde a post card. She had just completed a 10-day “vacation of a lifetime,” kayaking the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. “He was the first person I thought of contacting, and we continued to exchange Christmas cards for years after that,” she says. “I didn’t want to lose touch, because his influence on me was so pivotal. I went on to race whitewater kayaks, teach kayaking, and work as a whitewater-raft guide, while also growing my journalism career, which focused on outdoor-sports magazines. I also married a kayaker, and my son was involved in the sport for years.”
In June 2005, 30 years after Withers joined the Beloit College Outdoor Club, she and Wilde met for lunch in Seattle, Wash., to reminisce. Wilde, who lives in South Carolina, was passing through on a road trip, and Withers lives in nearby Vancouver, Canada.
Withers jokes that Wilde, along with Beloit’s creative writing program (and Professor Emerita of English Marion Stocking) taught her everything she needed to know to succeed. Two of her adventure novels (Raging River and Camp Wild) focus on whitewater-kayaking.
Withers is now at work on her ninth teen novel. Her Web site is www.TakeItToTheExtreme.com. Wilde, who is retired, recently remarried after meeting his wife, Kathleen, ocean-kayaking.
Taking Inspiration From Nature
| Photo
by: N. Marie Dries'92 |
 |
| Susan
Sieber'00 (left) and Jill Quackenbush
Weiss'75 in Weiss' shop in Crystal
Lake, Ill., where Sieber sells
her handpainted silk scarves. |
In the five years since she studied creative
writing at Beloit College, Susan Sieber’00 has taught English in Japan, worked at
a newspaper and as a computer technical
support specialist, led classes in Chinese
ink painting, calligraphy, Japanese animation
art, and English as a second language,
and painted a large fantasy mural.
As much as she enjoyed those activities,
Sieber wanted to express herself and
her interests even more creatively. “I
have always enjoyed making things with my hands,” she
says. “Since I don’t have the muscle or endurance to be a
landscaper, I thought ‘why not create art inspired by
nature?’”
In 2004, she launched
Uzushio Silks, a small
business selling handpainted
silk scarves,
which she runs out of
her home in Crystal Lake,
Ill. Sieber learned the art
of painting silk at Beloit,
where she took classes
with Donna Thorson,
adjunct instructor of theatre
arts and theatre costume
designer. “Donna had
such a passion for silk and
such painstaking methods of
research and costume design
that I couldn’t help but be
interested in and inspired by
her classes,” she recalls.
One early supporter of
Sieber’s creative efforts was
Jill Quackenbush Weiss’75,
proprietor of Quintessence, a
small store in Crystal Lake’s
quaint downtown. An anthropology
major at Beloit, Weiss
combined her fascination with
creation myths, rock collecting,
and spiritual exploration while
carving out a niche in the local retail market in the late
1990s. Her store is a source for crystals, jewelry, books,
music, oils, incense, and gift items.
Sieber had visited Quintessence several
times while she was studying at Beloit.
After moving to Crystal Lake, she was
drawn again to its tranquil ambiance.
In time, she and Weiss developed a warm
friendship.
Their association has provided
fertile ground for Sieber’s
new venture. “Browsing through the beautiful polished
tiger’s eye, malachite, ocean jasper, and other stones in
Quintessence gave me the idea to create silk scarves using
the colors and patterns of gemstones,” she says.
Using white silk scarves imported from
China, Sieber stretches and secures the
cloth on specially designed frames. She
considers a gemstone from all angles,
noting its color, pattern, and textural
variations, and researches its origin
and traditional associations before beginning
to paint with silk paints.
“Sometimes I try to imitate the stone’s patterns very closely,
as with the brown and gold stripes of tiger’s eye or the
clustered blue-green circles of chrysocolla,” she explains.
“With less distinctive stones, I
only match the colors and
use a free-form pattern to
express them.”
She applies color directly
to the fabric using foam,
bamboo, and watercolor
brushes. She adds visual
interest by throwing salt
on the wet paint to absorb
pigment. “I also tie, dip,
roll, and wrap the silk for
different effects.”
Like the stones that
inspire them, the scarves
are vibrantly shaded in
hues of green, blue,
gold, pink, and purple.
Sieber also designs
scarves that reflect her
travels and interest in
nature, applying color
palettes and patterns
that differ from her
gemstone collection.
The weight and texture
of each scarf
varies, as Sieber uses
different types of silk.
Each design is unique and organic, a quality
that Sieber likes.
“Even though I photograph every one, I feel sad to let
them go, because I know I can never repeat that exact
design.”
In addition to her full display at Quintessence, Sieber sells
her scarves through an Illinois art gallery, craft shows, and a
Web site (http://art-zoo.tripod.com). She enjoys the entrepreneurial
aspect of her work and is happy to have developed a
business that also satisfies her soul.
“I am lucky to be able to work and play at the same time,”
she says.
— N. Marie Dries’92
In Memoriam
Industrialist and Former College Trustee Steven P.J. Wood Dies
| Photo
by: Mary Munro |
 |
| Steven
Wood at the 1985 dedication of
Pearsons Hall Jeffris-Wood Campus
Center. |
Steven P.J. Wood, 88, retired chairman
of the Warner Electric Brake and Clutch
Company of South Beloit, Ill., and a
member of Beloit’s board of trustees
from 1965-1973, died Sept. 22, 2005,
in France.
Wood was one of a handful of people whose
financial support was critical to Beloit’s future in the 1980s.
Two major buildings on campus bear the
Wood name as a result of the family’s generosity and service to the
College. Wood Hall (formerly North Hall) underwent a
major transformation in the early 1990s, after the
Woods’ gift paved the way for a massive renovation of
the historic residence hall, originally constructed in
1927. The Wood family also made the major gift toward
the magnificent renovation of Pearsons Hall in 1985,
another of Beloit’s most important buildings. Designed
by famed Chicago architects Burnham and Root and
built in 1893, Pearsons Hall Jeffris-Wood Campus
Center is on the National Historic Register and honors
the memory of Wood’s father and mother, Pierpoint J.E.
Wood and Helen Jeffris Wood. The Wood family also
established the Wood Endowed International Fund at
Beloit. Beloit College conferred Wood with an honorary degree during Commencement
ceremonies in 1989.
Steven Wood’s dedication to the Stateline community was extensive,
and a lasting tribute to it is the Wood Family Fishing
Bridge, designed by Siah Armajani and spanning the Rock River, just west
of campus.
Wood attended Princeton University, the
University of Chicago, and the Illinois
Institute of Technology. He joined
Warner Electric in 1946 after serving in the U.S. army during
World War II and is credited with leading
the company through its most profitable
and successful period.
Among the survivors
are two daughters, Paula Wood Loud, who
also served on Beloit’s board of trustees from 1990-2001, and Susan Wood Bleier. His wife, Colette, died in 2004.
RELATED
LINKS:
Alumni & Parents home page
EMAIL:
Jane
Armitage - Director, Alumni Affairs
Susan Kasten - Editor, Beloit College Magazine
