The University Record, May 20, 1997
Obituaries
Edmund H. (Ned) Creeth, professor emeritus of English, died April 24 at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. He was 69.
Creeth, who received a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1956, began his academic career as a lecturer at Berkeley, then served as an instructor at Pomona College before joining the U-M in 1958 as an instructor. He was appointed professor in 1974.
Creeth taught in two principal areas, Renaissance literature and creative writing. His scholarly work includes an important book on the medieval origins of Shakespeare’s stagecraft, Mankynde in Shakespeare (1976) and two edited collections, Tudor Plays (1966) and Tudor Prose 1513-1570 (1979), as well as a monthly column for many years in the Shakespeare Newsletter.
On Creeth’s retirement, former department Chair Russell Fraser wrote: “Perhaps what distinguishes his career is his long and devoted commitment to creative writing. At least once every year since 1973, he has taught this extremely difficult subject, supplementing classroom instruction with some fifty courses in Independent Study. Out of the teaching his own work has flowered, notably the much-praised novel Deerlover (1987).”
Creeth also served for 20 years as associate editor of Michigan Quarterly Review, the U-M’s scholarly and literary journal. Editor Laurence Goldstein said: “Ned’s devotion to MQR cannot be overstated; he helped screen fiction manuscripts, and read the page proofs for 80 issues with an eagle eye. He certainly helped shape the direction MQR has taken since 1978 by means of his wise advice, his shrewd sense of editorial purpose, and his informed sympathy with the aims of scholars and creative writers.”
In addition, Creeth served on almost every departmental committee over the years, including the Executive Committee. He also was LS&A general counselor in 1960-65 and a member of the Scholarship Committee, Senate Assembly and the University Club Board of Directors.
Creeth was born April 11, 1928, in Oakland, Calif. He is survived by his wife, Susan; son, Timothy, and his wife Lainie; daughter, Sara Jane, and her husband Jay Harder; grandchildren, Sarah and Tracy; brother, Norman; and nine cats.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Friends of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, c/o Margaret Warrick, 228 Eighth St., Ann Arbor, MI 48103.
Irving J. Cantrall
Irving J. Cantrall, professor emeritus of zoology and curator emeritus of insects at the Museum of Zoology, died in Ann Arbor May 9. He was 87.
Cantrall was an internationally recognized expert on Orthoptera (grasshoppers and related insects). He expanded and improved the Orthoptera collection at the Museum of Zoology, making it one of the finest in the world. Cantrall also spent eight years in residence at the Edwin S. George Reserve and was instrumental in developing the Reserve into a nationally prominent field research facility.
Cantrall received his A.B. from the U-M in 1935 and his Ph.D. in 1940. During the following two years, he served as an aquatic biologist with the Tennessee Valley Authority, studying the life history of carp and the influence of water level fluctuations on fish abundance and distribution. After serving in the U.S. Army Airforce in 1943-46, Cantrall became an assistant professor of biology at the University of Florida.
In 1949, Cantrall joined the faculty as an assistant professor of zoology and curator of the Edwin S. George Reserve. In 1956, he became curator of insects in the Museum of Zoology. He retired in 1978.
He was a member of the Ecological Society of America; Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters; Pan Am Acridological Society and the Michigan Entomologist Society. He was, for many years, the editor of the Great Lakes Entomologist and also published many articles on zoology in scholarly journals.
Cantrall was particularly devoted to teaching large classes of non-science majors. He gave many hours of public service to the Museum and the community working as a 4-H volunteer, judging the Southeastern Michigan Science Fair for 14 years, and answering endless inquiries about insects for students, professional colleagues and the general public.
Survivors include his wife, Dorothy; two children, Marion (Michael) Horton and James Cantrall, all of Ann Arbor; two grandchildren, William and Jonathon; one sister, Martha Clement of Forest City, Iowa.; and one brother, Arthur Cantrall of Colton, Calif.
Donald E. Stokes
Former Rackham Dean Donald E. Stokes, professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton University, died of acute leukemia Jan. 26 in Philadelphia. He was 69.
Stokes, who served as dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton in 1974-92, taught political science at the U-M from 1957 to 1974. He also was dean of the Graduate School in 1971-74.
“Don Stokes was a pioneer in the development of modern political science and a distinguished builder of academic programs, both at Princeton and previously at the University of Michigan,” says former U-M President Harold T. Shapiro, now president of Princeton.
A specialist in public opinion research, Stokes was known for his studies of American and British voting behavior. He co-wrote the books The American Voter, Elections and the Political Order and Political Change in Britain, all published while he was a U-M faculty member in the 1960s.
At Princeton, his interests turned to the science policies of the federal government and the relationship between basic and applied science. He was the principal author of The Federal Investment in Knowledge of Social Problems, and an upcoming book Pasteur’s Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation will be published this fall.
Born April 1, 1927, in Philadelphia, Stokes received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton in 1951 and his doctorate from Yale University in 1958. He is survived by his wife, Sybil, of Princeton, N.J.; two daughters and three grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to the Princeton Friends School, 470 Quaker Road, Princeton, NJ 08540.
