William Guy Wing
Obituary
William Guy Wing was born on August 21, 1909, in Mechanicsburg, Ohio, a farming community roughly half way between Columbus and Springfield. William (Bill to his friends) was the oldest of five children born to Eva Guy Wing and Willis Orlando Wing. His father owned and farmed a piece of prime alluvial land immediately east of town (on Wing Road), and was part owner (along with his brothers Charles and Joe) of the Wing Seed Company, a pioneer in bringing alfalfa to this country as a silage crop. His father died in 1921, in the midst of the farming depression that followed the end of World War I, and the family lost the farm a few years later.
He graduated from Mechanicsburg High School in 1927, after winning several local singing contests, and was sent off to Oberlin College to major in music at the Oberlin Conservatory. It was there at the conservatory that he met his future wife, Alberta Marie Heiss. He graduated with a double degree in 1933, a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the Conservatory and a BA from Oberlin College. He continued his education at the University of Chicago, where he completed a Masters Degree in French in 1935 and then studied in Bordeaux, France, on a French government fellowship.
He returned to the United States in the fall of 1936 and accepted a teaching position at Central College in Pella. His initial salary was $700/yr plus whatever he could earn giving singing lessons. In 1939, his salary was raised to $1200/yr and he felt he could afford to marry Alberta. Their initial residence was an apartment in the Scholte House on the north side of the square. This was followed by brief stays in two other apartments before they moved into the house at 503 West Second Street where they lived from 1942 until 2002. Their life at 503 West Second was blessed by the birth of two children, William Ray, born in 1943 and Mary Margaret, born in 1945. Bill's career as a professor at Central continued and evolved. In addition to French he taught Spanish, for a brief time, and for many years taught an introduction to the humanities, a course for which he is widely remembered. In 1960, he became convinced that Central's cultural events weren't being widely enough appreciated, and received permission from the college administration to solicit funds from the town to purchase professional tape-recording equipment. This was used to start producing tapes of concerts and recitals for weekly broadcast on several Iowa radio stations, including WHO in Des Moines. He continued producing these programs until the time of his retirement in 1976.
He felt that much of the success of his undergraduate French education at Oberlin was the result of his experiences in the French House there, where students were expected to immerse themselves in the language, and took a pledge to speak only French, at all times among themselves. For many years he approximated this with a French table in the dining hall. Finally in 1962 he received permission to establish such houses at Central, and started with a French House. That same summer he took a trial run of students to a summer school in Mexico, and the next year took a group to France. This was followed by the establishment of Central's Study Abroad program, which has subsequently expanded to nine locations. For his work promoting the study of the French language, France, and French Culture, he was awarded the "Palmes Académiques" by the French Government. Central's current French House is named in his honor.
Bill and Alberta closed their house and moved to Hilltop Manor in March of 2002, where they settled in with books, many friends, and Alberta's Perkins brailler. Alberta was taken from him in May of 2003. Bill subsequently moved to Jefferson Place, and died there after a brief illness on Wednesday, October 11, 2006, at age 97.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Willis Orlando, and Eva Guy, by his brothers James, Willis, and sister Phellis, and a grandson James Paul Slater. He is survived by a sister Evelyn, his children Mary Margaret Slater and William Ray, and two grandchildren Sarah Elizabeth and William Maxwell Wing.
Memorials may be given for the Second Reformed Church
∼
Published on October 13, 2006
Des Moines Register, Page 6-B
DR. WILLIAM G. WING, age 97
Pella, Iowa
Dr. WILLIAM G. WING, 97, passed away Wednesday morning, October 11, 2006, at Jefferson Place in Pella, Iowa. Dr. WING was a professor of French at Central College in Pella, Iowa and is survived by his two children, Dr. William R. WING of Clinton, Tennessee and Mary SLATER of Ogden, Iowa.
Memorial Services, Monday at 2 p.m. Second Reformed Church, Pella, Iowa. Private interment will be made at Graceland Cemetery, Pella, Marion County, Iowa.
Memorials may be given for the Second Reformed Church.
Van Dyk Duven Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Obituary
William Guy Wing was born on August 21, 1909, in Mechanicsburg, Ohio, a farming community roughly half way between Columbus and Springfield. William (Bill to his friends) was the oldest of five children born to Eva Guy Wing and Willis Orlando Wing. His father owned and farmed a piece of prime alluvial land immediately east of town (on Wing Road), and was part owner (along with his brothers Charles and Joe) of the Wing Seed Company, a pioneer in bringing alfalfa to this country as a silage crop. His father died in 1921, in the midst of the farming depression that followed the end of World War I, and the family lost the farm a few years later.
He graduated from Mechanicsburg High School in 1927, after winning several local singing contests, and was sent off to Oberlin College to major in music at the Oberlin Conservatory. It was there at the conservatory that he met his future wife, Alberta Marie Heiss. He graduated with a double degree in 1933, a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the Conservatory and a BA from Oberlin College. He continued his education at the University of Chicago, where he completed a Masters Degree in French in 1935 and then studied in Bordeaux, France, on a French government fellowship.
He returned to the United States in the fall of 1936 and accepted a teaching position at Central College in Pella. His initial salary was $700/yr plus whatever he could earn giving singing lessons. In 1939, his salary was raised to $1200/yr and he felt he could afford to marry Alberta. Their initial residence was an apartment in the Scholte House on the north side of the square. This was followed by brief stays in two other apartments before they moved into the house at 503 West Second Street where they lived from 1942 until 2002. Their life at 503 West Second was blessed by the birth of two children, William Ray, born in 1943 and Mary Margaret, born in 1945. Bill's career as a professor at Central continued and evolved. In addition to French he taught Spanish, for a brief time, and for many years taught an introduction to the humanities, a course for which he is widely remembered. In 1960, he became convinced that Central's cultural events weren't being widely enough appreciated, and received permission from the college administration to solicit funds from the town to purchase professional tape-recording equipment. This was used to start producing tapes of concerts and recitals for weekly broadcast on several Iowa radio stations, including WHO in Des Moines. He continued producing these programs until the time of his retirement in 1976.
He felt that much of the success of his undergraduate French education at Oberlin was the result of his experiences in the French House there, where students were expected to immerse themselves in the language, and took a pledge to speak only French, at all times among themselves. For many years he approximated this with a French table in the dining hall. Finally in 1962 he received permission to establish such houses at Central, and started with a French House. That same summer he took a trial run of students to a summer school in Mexico, and the next year took a group to France. This was followed by the establishment of Central's Study Abroad program, which has subsequently expanded to nine locations. For his work promoting the study of the French language, France, and French Culture, he was awarded the "Palmes Académiques" by the French Government. Central's current French House is named in his honor.
Bill and Alberta closed their house and moved to Hilltop Manor in March of 2002, where they settled in with books, many friends, and Alberta's Perkins brailler. Alberta was taken from him in May of 2003. Bill subsequently moved to Jefferson Place, and died there after a brief illness on Wednesday, October 11, 2006, at age 97.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Willis Orlando, and Eva Guy, by his brothers James, Willis, and sister Phellis, and a grandson James Paul Slater. He is survived by a sister Evelyn, his children Mary Margaret Slater and William Ray, and two grandchildren Sarah Elizabeth and William Maxwell Wing.
Memorials may be given for the Second Reformed Church
∼
Published on October 13, 2006
Des Moines Register, Page 6-B
DR. WILLIAM G. WING, age 97
Pella, Iowa
Dr. WILLIAM G. WING, 97, passed away Wednesday morning, October 11, 2006, at Jefferson Place in Pella, Iowa. Dr. WING was a professor of French at Central College in Pella, Iowa and is survived by his two children, Dr. William R. WING of Clinton, Tennessee and Mary SLATER of Ogden, Iowa.
Memorial Services, Monday at 2 p.m. Second Reformed Church, Pella, Iowa. Private interment will be made at Graceland Cemetery, Pella, Marion County, Iowa.
Memorials may be given for the Second Reformed Church.
Van Dyk Duven Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
William Guy Wing
Obituary
William Guy Wing was born on August 21, 1909, in Mechanicsburg, Ohio, a farming community roughly half way between Columbus and Springfield. William (Bill to his friends) was the oldest of five children born to Eva Guy Wing and Willis Orlando Wing. His father owned and farmed a piece of prime alluvial land immediately east of town (on Wing Road), and was part owner (along with his brothers Charles and Joe) of the Wing Seed Company, a pioneer in bringing alfalfa to this country as a silage crop. His father died in 1921, in the midst of the farming depression that followed the end of World War I, and the family lost the farm a few years later.
He graduated from Mechanicsburg High School in 1927, after winning several local singing contests, and was sent off to Oberlin College to major in music at the Oberlin Conservatory. It was there at the conservatory that he met his future wife, Alberta Marie Heiss. He graduated with a double degree in 1933, a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the Conservatory and a BA from Oberlin College. He continued his education at the University of Chicago, where he completed a Masters Degree in French in 1935 and then studied in Bordeaux, France, on a French government fellowship.
He returned to the United States in the fall of 1936 and accepted a teaching position at Central College in Pella. His initial salary was $700/yr plus whatever he could earn giving singing lessons. In 1939, his salary was raised to $1200/yr and he felt he could afford to marry Alberta. Their initial residence was an apartment in the Scholte House on the north side of the square. This was followed by brief stays in two other apartments before they moved into the house at 503 West Second Street where they lived from 1942 until 2002. Their life at 503 West Second was blessed by the birth of two children, William Ray, born in 1943 and Mary Margaret, born in 1945. Bill's career as a professor at Central continued and evolved. In addition to French he taught Spanish, for a brief time, and for many years taught an introduction to the humanities, a course for which he is widely remembered. In 1960, he became convinced that Central's cultural events weren't being widely enough appreciated, and received permission from the college administration to solicit funds from the town to purchase professional tape-recording equipment. This was used to start producing tapes of concerts and recitals for weekly broadcast on several Iowa radio stations, including WHO in Des Moines. He continued producing these programs until the time of his retirement in 1976.
He felt that much of the success of his undergraduate French education at Oberlin was the result of his experiences in the French House there, where students were expected to immerse themselves in the language, and took a pledge to speak only French, at all times among themselves. For many years he approximated this with a French table in the dining hall. Finally in 1962 he received permission to establish such houses at Central, and started with a French House. That same summer he took a trial run of students to a summer school in Mexico, and the next year took a group to France. This was followed by the establishment of Central's Study Abroad program, which has subsequently expanded to nine locations. For his work promoting the study of the French language, France, and French Culture, he was awarded the "Palmes Académiques" by the French Government. Central's current French House is named in his honor.
Bill and Alberta closed their house and moved to Hilltop Manor in March of 2002, where they settled in with books, many friends, and Alberta's Perkins brailler. Alberta was taken from him in May of 2003. Bill subsequently moved to Jefferson Place, and died there after a brief illness on Wednesday, October 11, 2006, at age 97.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Willis Orlando, and Eva Guy, by his brothers James, Willis, and sister Phellis, and a grandson James Paul Slater. He is survived by a sister Evelyn, his children Mary Margaret Slater and William Ray, and two grandchildren Sarah Elizabeth and William Maxwell Wing.
Memorials may be given for the Second Reformed Church
∼
Published on October 13, 2006
Des Moines Register, Page 6-B
DR. WILLIAM G. WING, age 97
Pella, Iowa
Dr. WILLIAM G. WING, 97, passed away Wednesday morning, October 11, 2006, at Jefferson Place in Pella, Iowa. Dr. WING was a professor of French at Central College in Pella, Iowa and is survived by his two children, Dr. William R. WING of Clinton, Tennessee and Mary SLATER of Ogden, Iowa.
Memorial Services, Monday at 2 p.m. Second Reformed Church, Pella, Iowa. Private interment will be made at Graceland Cemetery, Pella, Marion County, Iowa.
Memorials may be given for the Second Reformed Church.
Van Dyk Duven Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Obituary
William Guy Wing was born on August 21, 1909, in Mechanicsburg, Ohio, a farming community roughly half way between Columbus and Springfield. William (Bill to his friends) was the oldest of five children born to Eva Guy Wing and Willis Orlando Wing. His father owned and farmed a piece of prime alluvial land immediately east of town (on Wing Road), and was part owner (along with his brothers Charles and Joe) of the Wing Seed Company, a pioneer in bringing alfalfa to this country as a silage crop. His father died in 1921, in the midst of the farming depression that followed the end of World War I, and the family lost the farm a few years later.
He graduated from Mechanicsburg High School in 1927, after winning several local singing contests, and was sent off to Oberlin College to major in music at the Oberlin Conservatory. It was there at the conservatory that he met his future wife, Alberta Marie Heiss. He graduated with a double degree in 1933, a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the Conservatory and a BA from Oberlin College. He continued his education at the University of Chicago, where he completed a Masters Degree in French in 1935 and then studied in Bordeaux, France, on a French government fellowship.
He returned to the United States in the fall of 1936 and accepted a teaching position at Central College in Pella. His initial salary was $700/yr plus whatever he could earn giving singing lessons. In 1939, his salary was raised to $1200/yr and he felt he could afford to marry Alberta. Their initial residence was an apartment in the Scholte House on the north side of the square. This was followed by brief stays in two other apartments before they moved into the house at 503 West Second Street where they lived from 1942 until 2002. Their life at 503 West Second was blessed by the birth of two children, William Ray, born in 1943 and Mary Margaret, born in 1945. Bill's career as a professor at Central continued and evolved. In addition to French he taught Spanish, for a brief time, and for many years taught an introduction to the humanities, a course for which he is widely remembered. In 1960, he became convinced that Central's cultural events weren't being widely enough appreciated, and received permission from the college administration to solicit funds from the town to purchase professional tape-recording equipment. This was used to start producing tapes of concerts and recitals for weekly broadcast on several Iowa radio stations, including WHO in Des Moines. He continued producing these programs until the time of his retirement in 1976.
He felt that much of the success of his undergraduate French education at Oberlin was the result of his experiences in the French House there, where students were expected to immerse themselves in the language, and took a pledge to speak only French, at all times among themselves. For many years he approximated this with a French table in the dining hall. Finally in 1962 he received permission to establish such houses at Central, and started with a French House. That same summer he took a trial run of students to a summer school in Mexico, and the next year took a group to France. This was followed by the establishment of Central's Study Abroad program, which has subsequently expanded to nine locations. For his work promoting the study of the French language, France, and French Culture, he was awarded the "Palmes Académiques" by the French Government. Central's current French House is named in his honor.
Bill and Alberta closed their house and moved to Hilltop Manor in March of 2002, where they settled in with books, many friends, and Alberta's Perkins brailler. Alberta was taken from him in May of 2003. Bill subsequently moved to Jefferson Place, and died there after a brief illness on Wednesday, October 11, 2006, at age 97.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Willis Orlando, and Eva Guy, by his brothers James, Willis, and sister Phellis, and a grandson James Paul Slater. He is survived by a sister Evelyn, his children Mary Margaret Slater and William Ray, and two grandchildren Sarah Elizabeth and William Maxwell Wing.
Memorials may be given for the Second Reformed Church
∼
Published on October 13, 2006
Des Moines Register, Page 6-B
DR. WILLIAM G. WING, age 97
Pella, Iowa
Dr. WILLIAM G. WING, 97, passed away Wednesday morning, October 11, 2006, at Jefferson Place in Pella, Iowa. Dr. WING was a professor of French at Central College in Pella, Iowa and is survived by his two children, Dr. William R. WING of Clinton, Tennessee and Mary SLATER of Ogden, Iowa.
Memorial Services, Monday at 2 p.m. Second Reformed Church, Pella, Iowa. Private interment will be made at Graceland Cemetery, Pella, Marion County, Iowa.
Memorials may be given for the Second Reformed Church.
Van Dyk Duven Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
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