In Memoriam: Celebration of the Lives of Our Departed 1961 Classmates
As we gather together to renew our friendships in this reunion,
we remember our departed classmates.
They remain with us, always dear
in our thoughts, most vividly now.
Time has not dimmed the light of
their faces in our memory.
We remember each now, each a bright,
vibrant, treasured friend; each with
a reserved fond place in our hearts today,
in remembrance of yesterday. . . .
- David A. Nixon
The College, with one exception, counts everyone who spent any time at the College with the expectation that they would be graduated in 1961 as a member of our class. The exception is for those individuals who were in our class, but who did not graduate in 1961 and instead graduated in another class at the College. Our class under this definition has 359 members even though only 206 were graduated by the College in 1961.
As of January 1, 2024, our class's 359 members were in the following categories:
|
Living
|
Missing
|
Deceased
|
Total
|
|
245
|
3
|
111
|
359
|
The following obituaries are based upon the College's annual Cyclones, 1958-1961; The Scarlet & Black student newspaper, 1957-1961 (the digitized version available on the College’s website); the College's “The Exercises of Commencement 1961;” our class letters; our class directories for prior Reunions (1971, 1976, 1986, 1995, 2001, 2011 and 2016); the records of the College's Alumni Office; searches of public records in Archives.com; Googling the names of the departed on the Internet and, where possible, interviews of their relatives and friends. Other records are cited specifically.
Although great effort has been made to ensure accuracy in these obituaries, there may be errors. In addition, we especially solicit additional information about those departed classmates whose obituaries unfortunately are skimpy. Please send all corrections and other information to the Grinnell Office of Development and Alumni Relations, Grinnell, IA 50112-1690.
Clicking a name below will open the respective obituary as a PDF