Candace (Candy) Johnson
Candace (Candy) Johnson, senior staff assistant in the Office of the Provost, died June 11 at age 50 in Ann Arbor, surrounded by family and friends. She suffered a heart attack several days prior to her death and was not able to overcome the complications.
Johnson is survived by her husband of 26 years, Rick; her children, Carey Johnson of Royal Oak and Adam Johnson of Pinckney; a brother, Jeffrey Carey of Florida; a sister, Sandra (Jeff) Knight of Dexter; parents Donald and Jean Carey of Ann Arbor; and parents-in-law Carol and Mary Ann Johnson of Ypsilanti. A mass celebrating Candy’s life was held June 13 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Pinckney, where she was involved in the youth group. Johnson also was active in the community with the Boy Scouts.
She will be remembered fondly by colleagues and friends for her positive outlook, caring disposition, strong work ethic and for inspiring those around her to do their best.
“Candy Johnson made everyone around her feel like they had a friend, and made everyone’s work easier and more fun to do. Everyone in our office misses her every day and count ourselves lucky to have known her,” says Paul N. Courant, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
“Candy was not only a wonderful and valued colleague, she was a friend. During her years in the Department of Internal Medicine, her willingness to help, ready smile and personal interest resulted in many of the staff and faculty she worked with becoming long-standing friends. We will all miss her,” says Dr. James Woolliscroft, executive associate dean and Lyle C. Roll Professor of Medicine.
“We have lost a good friend and colleague. If it wasn’t for Candy, many of us would not have had the opportunity to know each other as we have over the years. … We will all miss her; she touched the lives of so many people throughout the University,” says Sheryl Smith, senior executive secretary, School of Business Administration.
Johnson began her career at U-M in 1972 at the Health Center. In 1989, she transferred to the Office of the Provost. To recognize Johnson’s many contributions to the University, the Office of the Provost is establishing the annual Candace Johnson Staff Award for Excellence. Anyone interested in making a contribution to the award should contact the provost’s office ([email protected]).
—
William Drake
William Drake, 67, passed away peacefully at his home June 13, surrounded by his loving family and friends. Drake was born April 13, 1936, in Chicago, the son of Helen and Charlie Depue Drake.
He had a Ph.D. and was professor of resource planning and conservation at the School of Natural Resources and Environment, and professor of urban, technological and environmental planning at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning (TCAUP). Appropriate for his broad interests, he also was, until recently, professor of population planning and international health, School of Public Health.
Drake was a founding member and first director of the doctoral program in Urban, Technological and Environmental Planning, an interdisciplinary doctoral program that was started in 1968 at U-M and continues today in TCAUP.
Drake was instrumental in creating the Ann Arbor Transit Authority and served as its first director. He was chairman of the board, founder and member of the Michigan Savings & Loan Association. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of Consumers Union of USA and board member of the Building Research Advisory Boards, National Academy of Sciences.
Beginning in 1964, Drake was associated with and in 1977 became president of Community Systems Foundation (CSF), a nonprofit consulting firm that specializes in developing and evaluating management information systems for child health and nutrition programs in low-income countries. For nearly 40 years Drake, along with CSF teams, made numerous trips to many countries throughout the world, developing an effective style for helping governments and private agencies manage and evaluate social welfare programs. In recent years, under his leadership, CSF developed a child information monitoring system for UNICEF that has been implemented to date in 80 nations and is scheduled to be implemented in many more.
His lifelong fascination with older modes of transportation, especially trains, culminated in his appointment to the Board of Directors of the Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation, the home of the Pere Marquette 1225, one of America’s last steam locomotives.
He is survived by a large extended family, which he cherished at countless gatherings and—adventures, including son, Chuck Drake, and daughter, Beth Drake Anthony; he was step-father to Mark and Michael Stanley, adored grandfather of Jasmine and Ramin Drake, Megan and Jason Anthony, Chris, Rachel and Jessica Stanley and Allie and Ryan Stanley. His beloved mother, Helen Drake Weaver; older brother, Charles Drake; and dear nephew Tom and niece Julie Drake also survive him. Drake has left countless memories of laughter and fun and has enriched the lives of thousands worldwide. He will be missed immeasurably, but will be with us all in spirit.
A memorial service was held June 21. In lieu of flowers, those who wish may send memorial contributions to Nichols Arboretum in memory of Bill Drake. Those contributions will be directed to a scholarship in his name.
—Submitted by family and friends
Daniel Fader
Daniel Fader died June 23 at his home in Truro, Mass., on Cape Cod after a two-and-a-half year battle with multiple myeloma cancer. He was a professor of English at U-M from 1961-98 and the founding chair of its English Composition Board (ECB).
Fader is recognized as the father of the “writing-across-the-curriculum” movement in the United States, and he dedicated his life to teaching literacy. A passionate teacher, Fader was the recipient of the U-M Amoco Foundation Faculty Teaching Award in 1995. Born and raised in Baltimore, he graduated from Cornell (B.A. 1952, M.A. 1954) and Stanford (Ph.D. 1962), and was a research scholar at Cambridge University (1955-57).
Fader was, above all, a great storyteller, and in his teaching (especially of Shakespeare) he drew students into the great narratives of English literature. As a scholar he was a storyteller too, and he brought to his work a persuasive and compelling brilliance. He was in great demand nationally as a lecturer and commencement speaker.
Fader wrote “Hooked on Books” (1966), a revolutionary affirmation of the transforming power of literacy that has gone through successive editions and still influences teachers, parents and students to believe that reading can change children’s lives. He also wrote the New York Times bestseller “The Naked Children” (1971, new edition in 1996), documenting the implementation of his literacy program in a Washington, D.C., inner-city public junior high school; and “Paul and I Discover America” (1975), examining patriotism, violence, tragic loss and hope, and their transformations from his generation to his son’s.
Fader told stories about caring for others and inspired others to care about telling stories too. He was particularly proud of having been the 1952 National Collegiate Billiards Champion.
Fader will be missed greatly by all who knew him. Linda Gregerson, professor of English, remembers him as a generous man. “He had many ways of making this manifest, but the one I shall never forget was his volunteer work in the neonatal intensive care unit at the University Hospital. Dan would get up long before dawn to scrub and put on a sterile gown and help with these most vulnerable newborns during the early morning hours of transition from the night shift to the day shift, when the nurses are at their busiest,” Gregerson wrote to department colleagues. “Some of these infants had very few days to live; too many had no one but nurses to hold them, their families having given up. The world barely had room for them, but Dan made sure they did not pass without at least one blessing.”
He is survived by his wife, the art historian Christine Verzar of Truro, Mass.; his son, Dr. Paul Fader, daughter-in-law, Dr. Laurie Brown, and grandchildren Caitlin and Zachary of Flagstaff, Ariz.; daughter Lisa Fader; stepson Ben Bornstein of Columbus, Ohio; his brother and sister-in-law, Dr. Howard and Ruth Fader of Baltimore; and his nephew and nieces, Joel Fader, Betsy Goldstein and Susan Field, and their families.
A memorial gathering will be 3-5 p.m. Aug. 22 at the Pamet Harbor Yacht and Tennis Club in Truro, Mass. Contributions in Fader’s name may be made to the Castle Hill Truro Center for the Arts, Truro, MA 02666, or a charity of your choice.
—Submitted by family and friends
Jean Ann Jones
Jean Ann Jones, a staff member who worked in numerous U-M departments, died June 10. She was 61.
She was born in Mason, Mich., on Sept. 23, 1941, the daughter of Helen (Rugg) and Ruehl Kruse. She received her degree in education from Western Michigan University in 1963, and taught elementary school in Ann Arbor; Goose Bay, Labrador; Puerto Rico; and Lawrence, Kan.
Upon returning to Ann Arbor in 1971, she took her first position at the University, in the Department of Classical Studies. Over the next 30 years, she would be instrumental in many administrative changes at U-M, including a leading role in the creation and operation of UAW Local 2001, a clerical union in existence at U-M for several years in the 1970s.
More recently, Jones was an important catalyst in the launch of the Key Administrators Group for LSA, which provided interdepartmental networking and mentoring across the college’s diverse academic and administrative units.
For three decades, Jones held numerous positions of increasing authority for several departments, concluding her career at the History Department, where she served as administrative manager. During her tenure at the department, she always focused on the person and managed in a style that could be described as gentle but firm. Faculty administrators relied with confidence upon her knowledge, good judgment, poise and ability to turn decisions into actions. She inspired staff to do their best, and she enthusiastically recognized their successes.
Jones had a full and active life, which included a long-term commitment to the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, membership in the Hot Tub Club, a love of travel, camping and spending time with her granddaughter. She loved mystery books, good movies and fine food, especially when accompanied by an elegant birthday tiara.
Jones is survived by her sister, Jennie Clark (Terry); her brother, John Kruse (Verna); her son, Lawrence Jones (Darlene); her daughter, Kari Plesco; several cousins, nieces and nephews; and her ex-husband, Ronald Jones, with whom she maintained a close friendship. Of particular joy is her granddaughter, Eliza Amadea Plesco. Besides her loving family, Jones enjoyed the company of many devoted friends, who, along with the family, encircled her with love and care in her final days.
Jones was cremated, and a celebration of her life was held at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Ann Arbor on June 22. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, 220 East Ann St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104, in memory of Jean Jones.
—Submitted by family and friends
Russell Hunt Fifield
Russell Hunt Fifield, professor emeritus of political science, died June 3 at Glacier Hills Retirement Home; he was 89.
Fifield was born in Readfield Depot, Me., on Feb. 21, 1914. He obtained a B.A. in history and government at Bates College and a Ph.D. in international relations under the well-known George Blakeslee of Clark University, who pioneered U.S. studies of international relations of the Far East. In 1945 Fifield successfully sat for the Foreign Service exam and was posted to Hangkow, China, as vice consul, with responsibility for political and economic reporting.
In 1947 Fifield left the Foreign Service to accept a position at U-M in political science, where he shifted his interest to Southeast Asia. He joined a few other faculty members to establish the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, with funds from the Ford Foundation and the U.S. government Office of Education. The center consistently has ranked as one of the country’s leading Southeast Asian centers. Fifield has served twice as the executive secretary of the Association for Asian Studies, with offices in Ann Arbor.
In addition to teaching at U-M, Fifield has held visiting professorships at Harvard, Oxford, the National War College, the Hoover Institute and Cornell University. A steady stream of books marks Fifield’s scholarship, beginning with “Woodrow Wilson and the Far East” in 1952, then “The Diplomacy of Southeast Asia” in 1958, “Southeast Asia in United States Policy” in 1963, “The Lower Mekong: Challenge to Cooperation in Southeast Asia” in 1963, “Americans in Southeast Asia: The Roots of Commitment” in 1973, and “National and Regional Interests in ASEAN” in 1979. The 1963 book coined the term ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), which is the official name for that regional cooperation block. Fifield also was a frequent contributor to the Wall Street Journal.
Fifield is remembered fondly as a deeply caring professor. He chaired nearly a score of doctoral dissertations on Southeast Asia. Among his students, one rose to be an assistant under secretary general of the United Nations, one is director of the Japanese Defense Academy and another is the U.S. ambassador to Greece.
Past students, colleagues and friends gathered for a memorial meeting June 20. Contributions may be made to the Fifield Scholarship at Bates College, Lewiston, ME 04240, which he established for students from rural Maine.
—Submitted by Gayl Ness, professor emeritus in Sociology
