Remembering Bill Danforth Bill had a profound influence on my life, and I've learned that I was not alone. Here are some comments from those who knew and loved Bill Danforth. Please, if you knew Bill, do 2 things: send me your thoughts, and consider joining with me to fund the William Danforth Memorial Scholarship (contact me or the Alumni Office by e-mail at alumni@wra.net or by phone at 330-650-9701 for assistance.

Tribute

Bill Danforth is one of those rare individuals who needs no justification for his existence other than being who he is. -Lucien Price Perhaps his greatest gift to others was his presence: his integrity, his tolerance, his belief in and wish for the highest good for all he met. His love for his fellow human beings was nourished by his frequent solitude in the woods. -WRA Press Release on Bill's passing Bill Danforth was a very good friend... As the saying goes, ≥Only the good die young,≤ Bill is a good example... -Malcolm B. Vilas, Jr. π35

Moving into the old Cutler House about 48 years ago with Bill, Marje and kids was more than a memorable milestone in my school days, and being a colleague and trusted friend through so many years of transition in the school had a meaning all its own. Thanks beyond words, Bill and Marje. And you can double that for your greatest gifts of all to the neighborhoodãold pals Kate, Fred, Woodchuck, and Amy. Bless you all! -Travis Webber

Bill Danforth was the person who greeted me at the bus station when I arrived at Western Reserve Academy from Memphis. I ate breakfast in his homeãhis was the first home in which I spent any time at all outside my own family home. If anyone could make a 14 year-old black Southern kid feel comfortable, it was Bill. -Eugene Thomas π68, WRA Director of College Guidance

It wasnπt always easy being the son of a teacher at Reserve, but he worked really hard to make it a non-issue. I remember with a great deal of fondness our time spent in the poolãhe was my coach. We had so many aspects to our relationship, but in the pool we were able to separate the others out. That was another of Dadπs talents: to focus on the moment, and filter out the extraneous stuff. Dad had a gentle nature. He was not a demonstrative man, but when he sensed his values were challenged, he found a wayãwithout compromising civilityãto get his point across, with everyone from the campus crew to the headmaster. Dad was one of the real bridges between generations at the Academy. The school is celebrating its 175th anniversary, and his connection goes halfway back [1929]. He was always honoring previous WRA mentors, bringing their spirit to a new generation of teachers. They learned from him some of the collective wisdom of the past. -Fred Danforth π68

Put simply, Bill Danforth completely changed my life. We first met in Erie, Pennsylvania. Bill, then Admissions Director, visited my school on a recruiting trip. I was 13, and lived with my single mother in a neighborhood that struggled but mostly lost the battle not to be termed 'hardscrabble'. My motherπs home was loving, but chaotic. Money was scarce: Bill urged me to apply for the Academy, even though there was no chance we could pay the tuition. He called me weekly while I struggled with the decision: the Academy was a big departure from my life in Erie. When Mom managed to miss deadlines for applications and financial aid papers, Bill intervened. At one critical juncture, he filled out papers over the phone while describing the financial documents he needed me to find. Without Billπs support and intervention, I might never have left Erie. And Billπs attention didnπt end with admission, on scholarship, to WRA. Bill had this amazing way of just appearing when I was most unsure of my future course. While walking to Chapel, he told me about English-Speaking Union fellowships. Another time, in Ellsworth, he suggested I look at small colleges on the West Coast. The ESU fellowship led to a scholarship at Occidental College, and that made all the difference in the world. Since then Iπve studied in France, worked as a photojournalist, a newspaper editor, and a high-tech executive ã a life Iπd never have known but for Bill Danforth. -Christian F. Gulker, π69

Reading the tributes brought tears to my eyes as he also had such a profound influence on my life. -Greg Cooper, π70

I was a senior, and had heard on the radio when it woke me up that lovely spring morning that a friend of mind, David Dunnick, WRA class of 1965, had been killed in a plane crash in Lima the night before. I was in a state of shock, standing in front of the Chapel, stopped in my trek from North Hall to Seymour. I saw Bill walking towards me, and I tuned my back, embarrassed that he had seen me so upset. He came around and asked me what was wrong. Tears followed and I remember his arm around my shoulder, telling me that "tears are OK, Rocky. Now get to class!" It gave me the boost I needed to get on with my day. I have no doubt that Bill's doing the same thing up there -- supporting the other angels with humor and grace. -Rocky Ford,π68

I remember Bill Danforth very fondly. When I arrived at WRA a terrified scholarship boy, by myself, with a suitcase and directions to the campus, Bill was the first teacher to introduce himself. He made me feel safe and welcome, something he continued to do for all the time I was at Reserve. -Steve Womack,'70

To my Dad, Bob Garner, his classmate Bill Danforth epitomized the loyalty and spirit that is the Academy. For me he was just coach D, a friend, a mentor, a counselor, an ardent supporter through thick and thin, a WRA Master. We both owe so much to him and to that place. -Tim Garner,'62

My strongest memory of Mr. Danforth (and there is something within me that leaves me unable to this day to address any teacher I've ever had by their first name): WRA accepted me in the spring of 1969. It was through a scholarship program run by my hometown newspaper (whose papers I had delivered for years) that I applied and was accepted. My parents were quite skeptical about this. They had never heard of WRA, and their preference was that I stay home for another year and then try for one of the famous New England prep schools like Exeter. Immediately after my acceptance, my parents decided that we should visit WRA to see if the school was really worth it. This was not a small task, as my hometown, Dayton, is not all close to Hudson. Mr. Danforth personally took care of the entire visit. What I remember most clearly was his kindness, friendliness and hospitality. He was a true gentleman. By being himself and by proudly showing Reserve just as it was, Mr. Danforth convinced my parents that I would be attending as fine a school as any. My parents always happily remembered that visit and Mr. Danforth. When I graduated in June of 1972, my father sought out Mr. Danforth and personally thanked him for seeing that I was admitted. -Tim Saunders,'72

He was the first person from WRA that I (or my parents) met and he was kind to me. I remember meeting with him when I visited/interviewed at WRA. I remember being a little uncertain whether (as a Jewish kid) I would fit in there, but he was reassuring - mostly just by being himself. -Tom Seligson,'69

Bill Danforth was a giant among giants in the 50's at WRA. He was very balanced and was influential on my brother (a great swimmer) and me. -Robert Bohan,'55

October 1957. I'm in my first 2 months at WRA and struggling with life beyond American Bandstand. In Jr. high and youthful summers, I'm a strong swimmer with a lot of club trophies. At WRA, Bill Danforth is the swimming coach. A measure of his personal interest is that he remembers from my admissions interview that I swim. He recruits me over to the pool to see what I've got. 117 lbs. of speed and not much else. I swim a lap and back and get out. He says "That's IT?" with that perennially cheerful square-jawed face. I get back in the pool and do 4 more. Self-discipline through pride. So easily taught that didn't even know it had happened. This was the beginning of a gentle relationship that moved me from no attention span whatsoever to a young man with focus and purpose. I know he didn't do it alone. But he did it without a harsh word or a direct order. Ever. I know he cared enough to watch over me and find out from other masters what I was up to (which was often no good). I never had him as an instructor. Only as a coach and an interested observer. I was unknowingly schooled by Bill Danforth in the art of the rhetorical question and the hypothetical suggestion as a management techniques. The US Navy defines leadership as the ability to successfully unite individuals of disparate beliefs toward achievement of common goals, without the use of force or coercion. I was incredibly lucky to have Bill Danforth as a mentor. -John Geoghegan,'60

All through my interview process at WRA Bill was the only staff member I spent any real time with. He helped me with the testing preparation, and for the next three years always let me know in his quiet ways that he was there whenever I might need him. I know that among the reasons I was accepted at the Academy were Bill's presence and will. He and Marje remained a joy to visit whenever I returned to the campus after my graduation. We had some truly great and strong, how shall I say, "characters" among the faculty during the 60s, all truly memorable, some delightfully irascible and fondly remembered for it to this day, and Bill's personality seemed to me to provide those personalities with some of the "glue" without which we could not have carried the WRA "family" forward in one piece as we did. -Tom Jones, '65

Bill Danforth was a True Gentle Man in every sense of the word, who could be steely at the same time with that look in his eyes. -Rollin La France, '55

I remember my interview with Mr. Danforth in the spring of '64 informing us that I had been accept and that the tuition was $1900 at which point my father laughed and said he had a wife 3 kids and a mother-in-law and made $100 a week. Mr. Danforth smiled that beautiful, joyous and infectious smile of his and handed my father a form. He said we want Theo to come to school here and we will cover what you cannot. Throughout my 4 years at Reserve Mr. Danforth was always there for me. If you all recall he was in charge of rooming assignments and at the end of my freshman year I had not requested a room mate. I got a note in my box to come and see him. Upon arriving in his office he got right to the point asking me (rather gingerly) since I hadn't chosen a roommate would I be willing to room with the Upward Bound student for next year? I asked why he was so cautious in his query and he answered by saying "Well he's a Negro." I smiled and said of course I will thus began an almost 35 year relationship with my "roomy forever" Geno Thomas. The last time I saw Bill was in 1975 when I was traveling back east to do a giant sized coloring book for the National Democratic Party. When I told him I was living in San Francisco, California and the things I was doing he looked me right in the eye (as I am sure you all recall was his way) with that all knowing look and said "I guess we never could break that free spirit of yours could we?" followed by that wonderful laugh. The countless times he helped and advise me remain at the top of my list as guidelines for how to live and treat others. Thanks Bill for all your goodness and understanding. My God rest your soul...T -Theofilos J Pappas, '68

A burst of dust from my parent's fast escaping car fell over my tattered luggage as Bill Danforth approached me in front of North Hall, in August, 1963. Bill surveyed what had been left, then shook my hand. So began 3 calamatous years in which I grew up before my time. Bill was my diving coach. Bill watched me lurch from academic (I'm from Kentucky) to social probation (late nights at the Roxy Burlesque in Cleveland) and Bill watched me finally master German, football, comparitive history, writing and life. I took a walk with Bill on my tenth graduation anniversary and asked him why Reserve was so tough. ' Because you had to change, take on responsibilities, become more than you had ever expected of yourself, or leave', he said, simply. How Bill Danforth managed to produce a generation of leaders, with his almost humble way, is still unknown to me. In fact, knowing more about Bill now than before, I am astounded that Reserve had Bill and a few other Masters, who, in any other venue, would have become wealthy and powerful. Reserve left me with the feeling that there wasn't anything I couldn't learn, any profession or goal I couldn't achieve, if I focused on it. That's been worth more than gold. I thank you, Bill Danforth. -Rob English, '66

I... want to acknowledge your email and say, "Me, too!" with regard to Bill Danforth. He was a great guy and a valued friend with whom I stayed in contact until shortly befor his death. Reserve had an enormous impact on my life, and people like Bill, Fred Waring, Stretch Longstreth, "Mr. Kibbe," and Rich Clewell were the reasons why. -Howard Coffin, '57

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