SEPTEMBER 1999

OBITUARIES

Rodney F. Allen Sr.

By Vivian Fueyo
FSU professor and department chair
Educational theory and practice

"It was his humor that I loved most!" "He had so many wonderful stories that he made social studies come alive!" "He was the best professor I ever had." Those are some of the comments students gave when I asked them what they remembered about Dr. Rodney F. Allen Sr.
His family wrote, "In everything he did, every task he undertook, Dr. Rod shared his love of learning. He was proud to be called 'teacher.'" All who knew him would concur.
Until his untimely death on May 30, l999, following a brief illness, Dr. Allen had served as professor of social science education at FSU since 1968.
He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Delaware and a second master's and a doctorate from Carnegie-Mellon University.

Mary J. Brogan

By Vivian Fueyo
FSU professor and department chair
Educational theory and practice

The educational community has suffered a tragic loss with the death of Mary J. Brogan following a two-year battle with breast cancer. She passed away surrounded by family and friends on June 27 at the age of 44. Mrs. Brogan, an elementary school teacher and assistant principal from Martin County, Florida, came to Tallahassee in 1994 with her husband, Frank Brogan, then the newly elected Commissioner of Education.

At FSU she counseled minority students interested in teaching and served as an adjunct instructor and field liaison. During the two years that Mrs. Brogan taught in the Elementary Education Program at FSU, she introduced hundreds of students to their new role as teachers. The consummate educator and professional, she supervised the students' early experiences in the schools. She pored over video tapes of their early attempts at teaching. She spent many hours viewing the tapes and just as many hours writing each student detailed encouragement and constructive criticism. No one who knew Mary Brogan will ever forget her.

Donald Ray Cloud

Donald Ray Cloud, 49, coordinator of academic services of the chemistry department of Florida State, died July 17.
He was born in Pitkin, La. He had lived in Tallahassee four years and was a lead usher at Thomasville Road Baptist Church.
Don Cloud was known for outstanding achievements in the recruitment and welfare of new graduate students.

"As a result of his dedication and well planned initiatives, the last year's entering class was the best ever over the past 15 years," said Naresh Dalal, chair-elect of the department of chemistry. "He was a dear friend and a great human and will be very sorely missed."

William D. Owens

William D. Owens, 64, a public relations consultant, lobbyist and well-remembered sportscaster for Florida State athletics, died July 7 of pancreatic cancer.
He did the announcing on the radio for FSU baseball, basketball and football.

"Bill bled garnet and gold," said Gene Deckerhoff, Florida State's current play-by-play broadcaster. He worked for the state of Florida as early as 1964, promoting tourism, and later as a special assistant for Gov. Reubin Askew.

In 1984 he created William D. Owens Inc., a public relations and lobbying firm.
Mr. Owens served four years in the U.S. Navy. He earned a Florida State degree in advertising, communications and public relations, with a minor in accounting, in 1964. His wife, Barbara Parker Owens, graduated from Florida State in 1966.

Wallace W. Reichelt

Wallace W. Reichelt, 88, died May 24. A native of Deerfield, Ill., he had lived in Tallahassee since 1948. He graduated Lake Forest College in Illinois in 1932.

He was an Army veteran of World War II, serving in the 44th Division 7th Army.
He received a master's degree from Loyola University in Chicago in 1948. He joined the faculty of Florida State University and was an associate professor of history until his retirement in 1978.

The FSU Oral History Program will be named in his honor.

Pat Simmons

Pat Simmons, 62, head of the master of fine arts program in lighting design at FSU, died July 8 from complications of breast cancer.

At Florida State and in theater circles nationally, Simmons was regarded as an artist in lighting design. She received a bachelor's degree from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Va., and studied with the Lester Polakov School of Scenic Design in New York.

She was managing director and resident lighting designer of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, worked on many Broadway shows and designed lighting for numerous ballets, operas and plays across the nation.

Her work was nationally recognized, especially for her designs of "The Cherry Orchard" on Broadway, "The Hasty Heart" at the Kennedy Center and "I'm Getting My Act Together" at Ford's Theater. She served on the board of the University/Regional Theater Association and the National Theater. She was a guest designer at Penn State University, the University of California at Riverside and Rollins College.

Her students at FSU have reached positions of academic and professional authority worldwide.

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