The University Record, November 22, 1999 Marvin Selin
Marvin Selin died in his home in Ann Arbor Nov. 6 at age 73.
He was born Jan. 23, 1926 in Iron River, Mich., the son of Joseph and Celia Selin. After service in the Army in World War II, he graduated from the University of Michigan where he met and married Harriet Chudacoff.
Selin owned a furniture business in the Upper Peninsula until 1964, when he returned to the U-M, received his M.B.A. and began a second career with the School of Public Health. He retired as assistant dean in 1994.
Selin approached life with joy and enthusiasm. He was an avid outdoorsman and sportsman who loved to ski, backpack, fly fish, and play golf and tennis.
Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Harriet (Chudacoff) Selin of Ann Arbor; his daughters, Cindy Russo of Harvard, Mass., Roberta Schaefer of Annandale, Va., and Janet Dilz of Boulder, Colo.; a sister, Deborah Freedman of Ann Arbor; a brother, David Selin of Palm Beach, Fla.; eight grandchildren, Sarah and Daniel Russo, Gregory and Laurel Schafer, Marc and Kelsey Dilz, Matthew and Elena Russo; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Leslie Selin, and his sisters Libby Silverman and Shirley Ward.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Marvin Selin Memorial Scholarship Fund at the School of Public Health, 109 S. Observatory, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.
Submitted by the School of Public Health
Clifford L. Tetzloff
Clifford L. Tetzloff, former marine superintendent in the Great Lakes Research Division, died Nov. 2 at age 74.
He was born in Blue Earth County, Minn., to Karl L. and Agnes (Boettcher) Tetzloff July 13, 1925. He married Ruth Rickers Sept. 2, 1950.
He is survived by his devoted wife; four daughters, Kathryn R. Parker of Marshall, Mich., Karen (Charles) Fenton of Ypsilanti, Barbara L. Mueller of Champlin, Minn., and Suzanne (Jeff) Otterman of Whitehall, Mich.; and 10 grandchildren. He also is survived by two brothers, Carl Tetzloff of Minnetonka, Minn., and the Rev. Richard Tetzloff of Ballwin, Mo., and one sister, Nathalie Manthe, of Belle Plaine, Minn.
Tetzloff served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. After the war, he studied limnology at the University of Minnesota and graduated in 1949. Following graduation, he worked with the U.S. Department of Interior (Fish and Wildlife Division) in Cheboygan, Marquette and Ann Arbor.
In 1960, he joined the U-M’s Great Lakes Research Division. He retired in 1985 as the marine superintendent for U-M research vessels on the Great Lakes. Throughout his employment and his retirement, he was a member of numerous professional organizations and maintained an avid interest in the study of the Great Lakes.
In retirement, he and his wife traveled extensively and enjoyed frequent visits with their grandchildren.
Friends are encouraged to support research in heart disease through contributions to the American Heart Association, 16310 West 12 Mile Road, Lathrup Village, MI 48076-7300, or www.americanheart.org.
Submitted by the family
Alfred B. Connable Jr.
Alumnus and Regent Emeritus Alfred B. Connable Jr. died Nov. 16 in Kalamazoo at age 95.
Connable’s two terms on the Board of Regents, 1942–58, marked the largest growth period for the University due to the influx of students studying under the G.I. Bill.
He continued to support the University following his service on the Board, with gifts to a wide range of University programs, including the Bentley Historical Library, Michigan Radio, the Michigan League and the University of Michigan Detroit Observatory, where a conference room was named in his honor in 1996.
“With the death of Regent Emeritus Connable, the University has lost a beloved alumnus and Regent,” President Lee C. Bollinger said last week. “Long after he retired as Regent, Regent Connable continued to support Michigan in many ways. Even into his 90s, he was attending University ceremonial events, including commencements, and brought to those occasions a warmth, human and insightful perspective on the University.
“During his 16 years on the Board, Regent Connable always emphasized Michigan’s strong academic traditions. Working with President Alexander Ruthven and Harlan Hatcher, Regent Connable saw Michigan’s enrollment double and oversaw the development of North Campus,” Bollinger said.
“I am pleased that a conference room in the University’s historic Detroit Observatory bears the name of Regent Connable, a distinguished public servant and good friend of the University of Michigan.”
The memoir adopted at the time of Connable’s retirement from the Board stated: “He had great admiration for the autonomy of the Board as a constitutional corporation and took pride in explaining this concept to others, particularly to such groups as the Association of Governing Boards of State Universities and Allied Institutions, of which he is a past president. In leaving the Board, Mr. Connable defined the essential values of greatness in a state university as being derived from ‘a liberal tradition of faculty and student expression, a stimulating environment for scholarly exploration and a responsiveness to the needs of all people.’ These values he consistently emphasized in discussion and proposed for action.”
Several members of the University community reflected on Connable’s contributions to the University and higher education last week.
“He was a great and loyal supporter of the University and it seemed logical to him to run for the Board,” noted Regent Emeritus Philip H. Power. “His tenure saw extraordinary growth of the University with the G.I. Bill, which stretched the University to its seams. For the first time, federal funds were made available to veterans for college study, a landmark for higher education.
“As a Regent and as a man,” Power said, “he was able, loyal, warm, passionate for his convictions, civil in his behavior—truly a Michigan man.”
Regent Emerita Gertrude Huebner called Connable’s devotion to the University “deep and legendary. He took particular delight in attending commencements at Crisler Arena, and would shake hands with many a startled student as he merrily did what he called ‘working the crowd.’ We shall miss his charming personality.”
Samuel D. Estep, professor emeritus of law, cited Connable as “one of the outstanding Regents to serve the University during the time I was a faculty member. He had integrity, foresight and imagination about the things that needed to be done if we were to have a great university.”
Major Gifts Officer Jim Thomas noted that the conference room in the Observatory “is a fitting tribute to the ‘Michigan Man’ from Kalamazoo. Al cared about the Observatory because of its regental links. It was the Regents who helped pay for the Observatory’s move from Detroit to its present site. Al was very proud of his relationship with the University and treated all of its representatives with enthusiasm and kindness.”
Observatory Director and Curator Patricia Whitesell maintained a regular correspondence with the Connables following dedication of the conference room. “I think Al Connable saw in the Observatory elements of his own life—a long and successful career filled with discoveries, and with people who would leave their mark in history. The University of Michigan was Connable’s second home. The title of his autobiography, A Michigan Man, makes that clear. He loved history and he loved the Observatory and its historic telescopes.”
Restoration of the Observatory was a major project of the University’s History and Traditions Committee, noted Robert M. Warner, dean emeritus of the School of Information and Library Studies and member of the committee. “Al was interested in that project and gave a substantial donation, reflecting his interest and concern in seeing that the history and traditions of the University are preserved, and he also was interested in the Bentley Library.”
Kenneth Scheffel, associate archivist at the Bentley, characterized Connable as “one of the finest human beings you could ever hope to meet—warm, friendly, honest, gracious, intelligent and loyal. As a student, he served as Daily editor and president of the student body.
“Well into his 90s,” Scheffel added, “he traveled to Ann Arbor for every home football game. He truly bled maize and blue. Those of us who had the pleasure of knowing him will always have pleasant memories of him, and all of us who belong to the University community will continue to benefit from his able leadership and generous gifts.”
Connable was born Feb. 20, 1904, in Kalmazoo, attending the U-M (1925) and Harvard University (1929). He was associated with the Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Co. and, from 1929 to 1943, was affiliated with the Detroit Trust Co. At the start of World War II he took a leave of absence and organized the Price Division of the Office of Administration, serving as state price administrator until 1943. He then returned to Kalamazoo to a private investment counsel office.
Throughout his life he was active in Kalamazoo civic affairs.
“Hardly a thread of the fabric of Kalamazoo was untouched by Connable, from education to the arts, from housing for the disadvantaged to the health of downtown, from the business community to the Douglass Community Center,” said a Kalamazoo Gazette editorial Nov. 17.
“It will be hard to recall 20th-century Kalamazoo without also thinking of Al Connable. But as much as his leadership helped shape this community and its institutions—much of it via quiet, behind-the-scenes work—what he will be remembered best for are his unfailingly positive and progressive outlook, his boundless enthusiasm and his personal thoughtfulness and kindness to people of all ages and stations of life.”
Connable was one of 16 U-M graduates in an extended family. His second wife Tenho was a graduate in chemical engineering at the U-M.
Connable and his first wife, the late Dorothy Jean Malcomson, from whom he was divorced, had three children: Alfred B. III and his wife, Roma, of New York; Nancy M. of Kalamazoo; and John, who died in 1973. Other survivors, in addition to Tenho and his children and grandchildren, include his stepchildren Patrick and Louise Hindert of Ohio; Daniel and Carol Hindert of Salt Lake City; and Thomas and Tania Hindert of Virginia and their children.
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