John Little, associate professor emeritus of English and founder of the UND Writers Conference, died June 15, 2002 in Oxford, Miss. He was 62.

John Little was born Sept. 11, 1939 , in Brandon, Miss. He graduated from Raleigh High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy in 1961 from the University of Mississippi in Oxford . He attended Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., and earned a master’s degree in fiction from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1969. He practiced pharmacy in Mississippi, California, Washington, and Arkansas.

He joined the UND faculty in 1969. Homesick for his native South, he persuaded his former teacher, Eudora Welty, to come speak at UND about writing and books. It was the start of the annual UND Writers Conference, Little’s legacy to UND. He directed the conference for 20 years. He was recognized all over campus for his storytelling in a Southern drawl that people swore became more pronounced the longer he lived in North Dakota , and for driving an old white Cadillac convertible with the top down – winter and summer. He loved to fish and tell stories, and wrote a column about both in the Grand Forks Herald. He taught creative writing and fiction until he retired in 1998 and returned to Mississippi.

“Whatever John was part of would very likely make it somehow memorable,” said Bob Lewis, Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor emeritus of English. “And much of what John gave to events was talk, language and given in his strong Mississippi dialect. He reported on a trip to Winnipeg that after a pleasant conversation with a clerk in the Bay, she asked him where he was from. ‘North Dakota,’ he replied, no doubt with a smile. ‘Ah,’ she said. ‘I knew it was somewhere south of here.’

“Once he picked me up to go to the airport for a flight to a convention, and while he was busily talking he drove through a city stop sign. Bad luck. A police car was behind John and pulled him over. John popped out of his car and got into the policeman’s. In the rearview mirror I could see John massaging the policeman’s ears, and soon the policeman seemed to be enjoying the monologue. It went on and on, but finally John got out of the policeman’s car and returned to announce with great pride that he had talked the policeman out of a ticket. ‘That’s fine,’ I said, ‘but we may miss our plane.’ And wouldn’t you know that policeman stayed on John’s tail all through town so that he couldn’t dare risk racing away. We missed the flight but eventually reached the convention, and John, by then a one-semester veteran of UND, helped me interview faculty candidates. We got two good ones, [the late] Norton Kinghorn and Dan Eades, no doubt like the policeman swayed by John’s golden tongue.”

“John Little had a carefully studied, astringent style often surprising with a sudden twist of word or phrase, switching perspectives, helping us better understand the common as unique,” said David Marshall, professor of English. “It was as if we readers were the fish, and that final gig set the hook, proving the similar is readily the different. A Mississippian, ‘Whopper John’ knew more about North Dakota than most natives; a trained pharmacist, the learned professor dispensed wisdom in wry, short encapsulated comments, always concerned about your understanding, constantly cajoling, earnestly encouraging with a laugh that was infectious. The parallels in his style of writing and fishing, in his teaching and his camaraderie, allow us to see that his greatest creation was that sought by every serious writer – character, and his best creation was his unforgettable self.”

“The first Writers Conference, ‘Southern Writers in North Dakota,’ came about because John had just arrived in North Dakota,” said Elizabeth Hampsten, Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor emerita of English. “He was so homesick for the South, it seemed like a desperate attempt to cheer him up. It was a rather rambunctious conference, but with fine writers. John was an awfully good reader, I think. When Eudora Welty came and we met an afternoon at Honors, he was not only gracious with her, but highly insightful about her writing and literature in general.”

“I’ve known John Little since before I came to UND since it was he who, along with Bob Lewis, interviewed me on about the 50th floor of some hotel in mid-town Manhattan at the MLA (Modern Language Association) meeting of 1970,” said Jim McKenzie, retired professor of English and previous director of the Writers Conference. And though he left UND several years ago, he’s still a presence in my consciousness, especially as I work on Writers Conference issues. Time and again I will find myself confronting a situation and rather than asking myself, ‘what would John do?’ I actually hear his voice uttering, in a slow, southern drawl, some instantaneously funny remark or a roundabout story that will address, if not actually solve, the problem at hand. But when I open my mouth, it is always only me talking. John is gone now, but I know I will continue to hear his voice at those kinds of moments and the reason that is so is because John Little was one of those extraordinary people who get to found an important institution. When John arrived at UND there was nothing like a Writers Conference. He shouted one out of the ground during his first year here and kept it going for more than two decades, by which time it was a nationally known event. The UND Writers Conference is John Little’s legacy to the University and the region. It’s a great gift he left.”

He is survived by two sons, Erik and Dalton.

– Jan Orvik, Editor, with special thanks to Robert Lewis, David Marshall, Elizabeth Hampsten, Jim McKenzie, and the Grand Forks Herald.

Richard Hale, associate professor emeritus of English, died June 5, 2002 , in Altru Hospital . He was 98.

Richard Hale was born Dec. 7, 1903 , to William and Francis (Cram) Hale in Chicago . While growing up, he traveled the world with his father, an electrical engineer and foreign diplomat for President Woodrow Wilson. He graduated from Waller High School in Chicago, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University, and attended the University of Chicago, University of Arizona, University of Wisconsin, and Harvard University, where he worked on doctorates in English, language, Latin, and Greek. Though he never earned his Ph.D., he received an honorary doctorate from Missouri Valley College in Marshall . He served in the Reserve Officers Training Corps, Army Reserves, and the National Guard. He married Eleanor Nina Lathrop Dec. 31, 1925 , in Tucson , Ariz. She later taught in the English department at UND.

He taught at Lindbloom High School in Chicago and Missouri Valley College before joining the UND faculty in 1937. Known as the “Peppery Professor,” Hale was a classical scholar who taught Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, and German. Known for his puns and quips, he several times won a College of Arts and Sciences award for ‘exhibiting the most whimsical and erudite use of language in the College.’ Upon his retirement in 1974, he was described by Bernard O’Kelly, dean emeritus of the College of Arts and Sciences, as the most erudite faculty member to teach at UND in 50 years. He enjoyed astronomy and served as a lay minister for several churches.

Bill Schwalm, professor of physics, says, “Richard was the professor I always wanted to be. His conversation was an arabesque of surprising connections. He knew so much about so many interesting things, and his eccentricities were perfect. He usually wore a hat. Perhaps it was a leather aviator’s helmet with the ear flaps rolled up. I thought maybe he wore it to keep his head warm. Once in his room at Valley Eldercare he was telling me about a word circled in a pocket dictionary. Suddenly he knew he had forgotten something. He took of his hat. Lo and behold, it was filled with slips of paper packed with notes! ‘Alopecia,’ he said. His dictionary had it as baldness. ‘It means fox, oh yes, in Greek.’ Moreover, the term foxy-grandpa describes a kind of false scalp used in theater to simulate baldness.”

“Mr. Hale, as he was universally known, was at the end of his long career when I came to UND, but he has still left a deep impression,” said Jim McKenzie, professor of English. “I’ve never known a person with more information about classical rhetoric or a greater ability to move among Latin, Greek, English, and other languages. Long after his retirement he maintained a very active interest in these subjects (and many others), engaging colleagues in ways to see what he could learn from them as well as to play with language itself.

“At play in language, a fine quality for an English teacher, he seemed also at play in the classroom. The stories about his unorthodox teaching practices are legion: how he once (often?) jumped out a Merrifield window to give his composition students something to think about in their writing; how he hid under a desk and sprang out at them unawares. There may be no 20th century teacher in Merrifield about whom there are more stories, but what characterizes these many stories, we have heard, along with this wonderful sense of play, is a deep affection for the man about whom they were told. He was one of the gentlest men I’ve encountered, and seemed to be universally appreciated.”

“Mr. Hale was a student of my grandfather’s at the University of Arizona , and spoke about him and his classes as the best years of his life, as many of us think of our graduate student time,” said Elizabeth Hampsten, Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor emerita of English. “I saw him the day before I left in May for Uruguay . He was in his wheelchair; there was no other chair in the room. He asked me to sit on the bed. He was facing out the window, marveling at the progress of a cloud, and telling about the birds who flew to his bird feeder then back and forth to some bushes. Along with literary and linguistic allusions much too learned for me to follow, and some songs from his cabaret days. Super lucid. I’ll miss him and his really wanting to know at what times I taught classes, and what they were, and in what rooms. His kindness is what shone through.”

“Richard Hale was an amazing, lively mind from the time I met him as a 70-plus senior citizen until the last conversation we had,” said Lynn Lindholm, associate professor of philosophy and religion. “He met me first by telephone within the first month that I was at UND; he may have called virtually every new humanities faculty member to regale us with patter concerning the Latin or Greek mottos of our respective universities. He loved to converse on the phone, especially about classical languages and literature. His second-favorite recurring topic was the city of Chicago where his grandmother Hale, he claimed, invented the modern celebration of Thanksgiving. He was often concerned at the status of Chicago as the country’s second-largest city – and it worried him, almost metaphysically, when Los Angeles took its place.

“Even though he was alone and progressively more incapacitated, he kept himself occupied for year after year. His living and dining rooms were always papered with large books open to some page or other awaiting more perusal. He loved late night television. He tottered out to put carrots under his old lawn feeder to treat the rabbits until he was unable to leave his home.

“Mr. Hale and I regularly sang the old Sinatra song, ‘Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin’ town’ together, as it was my hometown too. We both loved that old song.”

He is survived by his sons, Robert (Elaine), Baltimore, and Thomas (Nina), San Diego ; five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife. Memorials are suggested to UND or to the donor’s choice.

– Jan Orvik, Editor, with special thanks to Bill Schwalm, Jim McKenzie, Elizabeth Hampsten, Lynn Lindholm, and the Grand Forks Herald.

Daniel P. Sheridan, Professor of English and Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences, died of colon cancer Dec. 24, 2000 , at his home in East Grand Forks . He was 54. Daniel Sheridan was born Jan. 23, 1946 , in New York City , the son of Philip and Mary (McNulty) Sheridan. He grew up in Flushing , N.Y. He earned his bachelor's degree from Fordham College in 1967, his master's degree from Cornell University in 1969, and his doctorate from Northwestern University in Evanston , Ill , in 1974. A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, he served as a counselor at the Jewish Children's Bureau in Chicago from 1969 to 1971. He married Judith Colley on June 7, 1969 , in Ithaca , N.Y.

He joined the faculty of the UND Department of English in 1975. He served several years as department chair and later as Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences. But teaching was his passion. He received the UND Foundation/McDermott Award for Individual Excellence in Teaching in 1994, and in 1995 was named North Dakota Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation. He took two leaves of absence to teach at Central High School and Valley Middle School in Grand Forks . He directed the Red River Valley Writing Project. His field of research was British literature, especially from the 19th century. In November, he published a book titled "Teaching Secondary English." Throughout his tenure with the English Department, he also served as an extended secondary faculty member with the College of Education and Human Development, advising students and teaching.

Dan was active in social causes and supported the Third Street Clinic. He was heavily involved in refugee resettlement in the area.

Following are portions of the obituary written by Michael Benedict of the Grand Forks Herald:

Sheridan taught future teachers how to teach. He believed if he showed respect to his students, they would then show respect to their future students. He is described as a teacher's teacher; because of his influence, hundreds of his former students are now succeeding in teaching careers.

"He generally had a real positive outlook," said his wife, Judy Sheridan. "Several of his former students said he demonstrated a lot of respect for students. That's how he treated people."

"I've known Dan since he came here," said Jim McKenzie, Professor of English. "I learned a lot about teaching from him." He said Sheridan was a wonderful family man who was highly principled. He taught teachers because he believed there is no greater public service than education. When he felt strongly about an issue, he always listened to opposing views, but he wasn't afraid to share his opinion, McKenzie said. "He told you exactly what he thought," he said. "He never minced his words."

"I think we dragged Dan into administration . . . but what he really loved was his teaching," said Tom Rand, Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences. For nearly two years Sheridan and Rand shared a title. As an administrator, Sheridan also continued teaching. "Some people engender your respect and others your affection," Rand said. "Dan was one of those rare good people whom you respect, admire and quite simply like a lot. The University will be poorer without him."

He is survived by his wife; sons, Philip, St. Paul, and Adam (Ashley Mercer), Minneapolis; a sister, Clare Sheridan, Medford, Mass.; and a brother, Philip (Marion), North Berwick, Maine. He was preceded in death by his parents.

More tributes from faculty members appeared in the January 12, 2001 edition of University Letter, after faculty and students returned to campus.

"The English Education Program was Dan's pride and joy," said Susan Koprince (English). "A dedicated teacher himself, he took special pleasure in preparing our English majors to teach in the public schools. For Dan, teaching was a noble profession."

"Dan Sheridan was a steadfast colleague and sensitive and fun-loving friend," said Sara Hanhan (Associate Provost and Early Childhood Education). "He was a kind and gentle man who was able to see everyone's perspectives on an issue, and then weigh in diplomatically on the basis of strong principle. We all counted on him for leadership in choosing the most ethically sound course of action, and will miss him greatly here at the University and in our daily lives."

The University community remembered Dan Sheridan at a gathering in the North Dakota Museum of Art on Monday, Jan. 22, 2001 at 3 p.m.

-Jan Orvik, Editor, with information from the Grand Forks Herald. Excerpts reprinted with permission. University Letter, 5 January 2001
University Letter, 12 January 2001