Shideler was a founder of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity and professor at Miami University for 47 years. Shideler descends from a long line of Shideler relatives from the environs of Oxford in Preble and Butler counties. He was the son of Leander P. and Elizabeth (Hellwig) Shideler. His father was a teacher. He completed his studies at Miami in three years, graduating in 1907. He earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1910 and returned to join the Miami faculty and to found the Geology department in 1920. He was recognized as an outstanding teacher and a great number of his students went on to important academic careers. He was also a great fossil collector and his collection is the core of Miami's Limper Geology Museum in Shideler Hall. Upon his retirement, he spent a year at Hiram College funded by a John Hay Whitney Foundation grant to help build a geology department there.
In Phi Kappa Tau, Shideler held nearly every national office, serving as national president and and as comptroller for a number of years. He loved to travel to fraternity events and was popular speaker at Conventions, Founder's Day banquets and charterings. He also had a keen interest in athletics and represented Miami University at NCAA and Mid-American Conference meetings.
Dr. Shideler and his wife, the former Katherine Hoffman lived in one of the South Campus Avenue homes that had belonged to the noted minister, Rev. David Swing and is now a fraternity house. After their sons, James Henry Shideler and William Watson Shideler left home, the Shidelers rented extra rooms in their large home and many of those boarders have fond memories of living with them. The earth science building at Miami is named in his memory.
*** *** ***
Obituary from the Hamilton (Ohio) Journal-News, Dec. 19, 1958, page 3:
Funeral Services Saturday At 2 P.M. For Dr. William Shideler, Of Miami.
OXFORD--Funeral services for Dr. William Henry Shideler,72, nationally-known retired Miami University geologist, will be held at Memorial Presbyterian Church here Saturday at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Howard F. Gebhart, pastor, officiating. Burial will be in the university's plot of Oxford Cemetery.
The family has asked that no flowers be sent.
Pallbearers will be Dr. Paul H. Dunn, a former student of Shideler's who is now chairman of the geology department at Mississippi State College; Richard J. Young, Oxford, national executive secretary of Phi Kappa Tau; Dr. Karl Limper, who succeeded Shideler as chairman of Miami's geology department; Ewing T. Boles, Columbus banker, a former national president of Phi Kappa Tau; Dr. W.A. Hammond, Xenia inventor and scientist, and Prof. J. Belden Dennison, chairman of the finance department of Miami's School of Business Administration.
Dr. Shideler died early Thursday at McCullough-Hyde Hospital here, five hours after a cerebral hemorrhage at his home, 110 S. Campus Ave.
Fraternity Founder
Widely known as a geologist, he was one of two surviving founders of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and had held each of its national offices. He was also widely known in intercollegiate athletic circles.
Dr. Shideler had established a record of 47 years of faculty service at Miami when he retired in 1957. Having entered Miami as a freshman in 1903, he had been associated with Miami more than a third of its lifetime. On retirement, he spent the 1957-58 school year at Hiram College setting up a geology department on a John Hay Whitney grant for retired professors.
He had established Miami's department of geology in 1920 and headed the department until 1956 when he stepped down as chairman but postponed retirement for the third time to devote a year to collecting notes and other materials gathered over the years.
The fraternity which he helped to establish at Miami in 1906 has grown to 72 chapters and almost 25,000 members. He had been its national comptroller since 1929 and just Wednesday afternoon stopped at its central office here to sign vouchers and "keep my work up to date." Only surviving founder is Taylor A. Borradaile, Washington D.C., Preble County native who is a chemist with the Veterans Administration.
Athletics Interest
Dr. Shideler had been a varsity distance runner as an undergraduate and had been a timer or judge at Miami track meets for half a century. he was a member of Miami's athletic advisory council 1918-58 and chairman of that group most of those years; was faculty representative to the Mid-American Conference and the old Buckeye Conference and had represented Miami at numerous meetings of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Fellow geologists had named several fossil discoveries after him.
He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, Phi Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa, the Geological Society of America, The Paleontological Society, the Ohio and Indiana Academies of Science and the American Association for Advancement of Science. He was a 32d Degree Mason, a Shriner and a member of Memorial Presbyterian Church here.
He was born at West Middletown, O., July 14, 1886, a son of Leander Pierce and Elizabeth Helwig Shideler. He was graduated from Miami in 1907, taught at Cornell University while working toward a doctor's degree, which he received there in 1910, and taught various sciences at Miami from 1910 until a separate department of geology was established in 1920.
He leaves the widow Katherine Hoffman Shideler, who has appeared as a speaker before many Southwestern Ohio women's groups; two sons, Dr. William W. Shideler, civilian geologist for the U.S. Army, now on leave for special graduate study at Ohio State University between assignments in Japan and Honolulu; and Dr. James H. Shideler of the history faculty of the University of California at Davis, and six grandchildren including Diane Shideler, a junior at Miami.
In Phi Kappa Tau, Shideler held nearly every national office, serving as national president and and as comptroller for a number of years. He loved to travel to fraternity events and was popular speaker at Conventions, Founder's Day banquets and charterings. He also had a keen interest in athletics and represented Miami University at NCAA and Mid-American Conference meetings.
Dr. Shideler and his wife, the former Katherine Hoffman lived in one of the South Campus Avenue homes that had belonged to the noted minister, Rev. David Swing and is now a fraternity house. After their sons, James Henry Shideler and William Watson Shideler left home, the Shidelers rented extra rooms in their large home and many of those boarders have fond memories of living with them. The earth science building at Miami is named in his memory.
*** *** ***
Obituary from the Hamilton (Ohio) Journal-News, Dec. 19, 1958, page 3:
Funeral Services Saturday At 2 P.M. For Dr. William Shideler, Of Miami.
OXFORD--Funeral services for Dr. William Henry Shideler,72, nationally-known retired Miami University geologist, will be held at Memorial Presbyterian Church here Saturday at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Howard F. Gebhart, pastor, officiating. Burial will be in the university's plot of Oxford Cemetery.
The family has asked that no flowers be sent.
Pallbearers will be Dr. Paul H. Dunn, a former student of Shideler's who is now chairman of the geology department at Mississippi State College; Richard J. Young, Oxford, national executive secretary of Phi Kappa Tau; Dr. Karl Limper, who succeeded Shideler as chairman of Miami's geology department; Ewing T. Boles, Columbus banker, a former national president of Phi Kappa Tau; Dr. W.A. Hammond, Xenia inventor and scientist, and Prof. J. Belden Dennison, chairman of the finance department of Miami's School of Business Administration.
Dr. Shideler died early Thursday at McCullough-Hyde Hospital here, five hours after a cerebral hemorrhage at his home, 110 S. Campus Ave.
Fraternity Founder
Widely known as a geologist, he was one of two surviving founders of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and had held each of its national offices. He was also widely known in intercollegiate athletic circles.
Dr. Shideler had established a record of 47 years of faculty service at Miami when he retired in 1957. Having entered Miami as a freshman in 1903, he had been associated with Miami more than a third of its lifetime. On retirement, he spent the 1957-58 school year at Hiram College setting up a geology department on a John Hay Whitney grant for retired professors.
He had established Miami's department of geology in 1920 and headed the department until 1956 when he stepped down as chairman but postponed retirement for the third time to devote a year to collecting notes and other materials gathered over the years.
The fraternity which he helped to establish at Miami in 1906 has grown to 72 chapters and almost 25,000 members. He had been its national comptroller since 1929 and just Wednesday afternoon stopped at its central office here to sign vouchers and "keep my work up to date." Only surviving founder is Taylor A. Borradaile, Washington D.C., Preble County native who is a chemist with the Veterans Administration.
Athletics Interest
Dr. Shideler had been a varsity distance runner as an undergraduate and had been a timer or judge at Miami track meets for half a century. he was a member of Miami's athletic advisory council 1918-58 and chairman of that group most of those years; was faculty representative to the Mid-American Conference and the old Buckeye Conference and had represented Miami at numerous meetings of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Fellow geologists had named several fossil discoveries after him.
He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, Phi Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa, the Geological Society of America, The Paleontological Society, the Ohio and Indiana Academies of Science and the American Association for Advancement of Science. He was a 32d Degree Mason, a Shriner and a member of Memorial Presbyterian Church here.
He was born at West Middletown, O., July 14, 1886, a son of Leander Pierce and Elizabeth Helwig Shideler. He was graduated from Miami in 1907, taught at Cornell University while working toward a doctor's degree, which he received there in 1910, and taught various sciences at Miami from 1910 until a separate department of geology was established in 1920.
He leaves the widow Katherine Hoffman Shideler, who has appeared as a speaker before many Southwestern Ohio women's groups; two sons, Dr. William W. Shideler, civilian geologist for the U.S. Army, now on leave for special graduate study at Ohio State University between assignments in Japan and Honolulu; and Dr. James H. Shideler of the history faculty of the University of California at Davis, and six grandchildren including Diane Shideler, a junior at Miami.
Shideler was a founder of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity and professor at Miami University for 47 years. Shideler descends from a long line of Shideler relatives from the environs of Oxford in Preble and Butler counties. He was the son of Leander P. and Elizabeth (Hellwig) Shideler. His father was a teacher. He completed his studies at Miami in three years, graduating in 1907. He earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1910 and returned to join the Miami faculty and to found the Geology department in 1920. He was recognized as an outstanding teacher and a great number of his students went on to important academic careers. He was also a great fossil collector and his collection is the core of Miami's Limper Geology Museum in Shideler Hall. Upon his retirement, he spent a year at Hiram College funded by a John Hay Whitney Foundation grant to help build a geology department there.
In Phi Kappa Tau, Shideler held nearly every national office, serving as national president and and as comptroller for a number of years. He loved to travel to fraternity events and was popular speaker at Conventions, Founder's Day banquets and charterings. He also had a keen interest in athletics and represented Miami University at NCAA and Mid-American Conference meetings.
Dr. Shideler and his wife, the former Katherine Hoffman lived in one of the South Campus Avenue homes that had belonged to the noted minister, Rev. David Swing and is now a fraternity house. After their sons, James Henry Shideler and William Watson Shideler left home, the Shidelers rented extra rooms in their large home and many of those boarders have fond memories of living with them. The earth science building at Miami is named in his memory.
*** *** ***
Obituary from the Hamilton (Ohio) Journal-News, Dec. 19, 1958, page 3:
Funeral Services Saturday At 2 P.M. For Dr. William Shideler, Of Miami.
OXFORD--Funeral services for Dr. William Henry Shideler,72, nationally-known retired Miami University geologist, will be held at Memorial Presbyterian Church here Saturday at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Howard F. Gebhart, pastor, officiating. Burial will be in the university's plot of Oxford Cemetery.
The family has asked that no flowers be sent.
Pallbearers will be Dr. Paul H. Dunn, a former student of Shideler's who is now chairman of the geology department at Mississippi State College; Richard J. Young, Oxford, national executive secretary of Phi Kappa Tau; Dr. Karl Limper, who succeeded Shideler as chairman of Miami's geology department; Ewing T. Boles, Columbus banker, a former national president of Phi Kappa Tau; Dr. W.A. Hammond, Xenia inventor and scientist, and Prof. J. Belden Dennison, chairman of the finance department of Miami's School of Business Administration.
Dr. Shideler died early Thursday at McCullough-Hyde Hospital here, five hours after a cerebral hemorrhage at his home, 110 S. Campus Ave.
Fraternity Founder
Widely known as a geologist, he was one of two surviving founders of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and had held each of its national offices. He was also widely known in intercollegiate athletic circles.
Dr. Shideler had established a record of 47 years of faculty service at Miami when he retired in 1957. Having entered Miami as a freshman in 1903, he had been associated with Miami more than a third of its lifetime. On retirement, he spent the 1957-58 school year at Hiram College setting up a geology department on a John Hay Whitney grant for retired professors.
He had established Miami's department of geology in 1920 and headed the department until 1956 when he stepped down as chairman but postponed retirement for the third time to devote a year to collecting notes and other materials gathered over the years.
The fraternity which he helped to establish at Miami in 1906 has grown to 72 chapters and almost 25,000 members. He had been its national comptroller since 1929 and just Wednesday afternoon stopped at its central office here to sign vouchers and "keep my work up to date." Only surviving founder is Taylor A. Borradaile, Washington D.C., Preble County native who is a chemist with the Veterans Administration.
Athletics Interest
Dr. Shideler had been a varsity distance runner as an undergraduate and had been a timer or judge at Miami track meets for half a century. he was a member of Miami's athletic advisory council 1918-58 and chairman of that group most of those years; was faculty representative to the Mid-American Conference and the old Buckeye Conference and had represented Miami at numerous meetings of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Fellow geologists had named several fossil discoveries after him.
He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, Phi Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa, the Geological Society of America, The Paleontological Society, the Ohio and Indiana Academies of Science and the American Association for Advancement of Science. He was a 32d Degree Mason, a Shriner and a member of Memorial Presbyterian Church here.
He was born at West Middletown, O., July 14, 1886, a son of Leander Pierce and Elizabeth Helwig Shideler. He was graduated from Miami in 1907, taught at Cornell University while working toward a doctor's degree, which he received there in 1910, and taught various sciences at Miami from 1910 until a separate department of geology was established in 1920.
He leaves the widow Katherine Hoffman Shideler, who has appeared as a speaker before many Southwestern Ohio women's groups; two sons, Dr. William W. Shideler, civilian geologist for the U.S. Army, now on leave for special graduate study at Ohio State University between assignments in Japan and Honolulu; and Dr. James H. Shideler of the history faculty of the University of California at Davis, and six grandchildren including Diane Shideler, a junior at Miami.
In Phi Kappa Tau, Shideler held nearly every national office, serving as national president and and as comptroller for a number of years. He loved to travel to fraternity events and was popular speaker at Conventions, Founder's Day banquets and charterings. He also had a keen interest in athletics and represented Miami University at NCAA and Mid-American Conference meetings.
Dr. Shideler and his wife, the former Katherine Hoffman lived in one of the South Campus Avenue homes that had belonged to the noted minister, Rev. David Swing and is now a fraternity house. After their sons, James Henry Shideler and William Watson Shideler left home, the Shidelers rented extra rooms in their large home and many of those boarders have fond memories of living with them. The earth science building at Miami is named in his memory.
*** *** ***
Obituary from the Hamilton (Ohio) Journal-News, Dec. 19, 1958, page 3:
Funeral Services Saturday At 2 P.M. For Dr. William Shideler, Of Miami.
OXFORD--Funeral services for Dr. William Henry Shideler,72, nationally-known retired Miami University geologist, will be held at Memorial Presbyterian Church here Saturday at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Howard F. Gebhart, pastor, officiating. Burial will be in the university's plot of Oxford Cemetery.
The family has asked that no flowers be sent.
Pallbearers will be Dr. Paul H. Dunn, a former student of Shideler's who is now chairman of the geology department at Mississippi State College; Richard J. Young, Oxford, national executive secretary of Phi Kappa Tau; Dr. Karl Limper, who succeeded Shideler as chairman of Miami's geology department; Ewing T. Boles, Columbus banker, a former national president of Phi Kappa Tau; Dr. W.A. Hammond, Xenia inventor and scientist, and Prof. J. Belden Dennison, chairman of the finance department of Miami's School of Business Administration.
Dr. Shideler died early Thursday at McCullough-Hyde Hospital here, five hours after a cerebral hemorrhage at his home, 110 S. Campus Ave.
Fraternity Founder
Widely known as a geologist, he was one of two surviving founders of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and had held each of its national offices. He was also widely known in intercollegiate athletic circles.
Dr. Shideler had established a record of 47 years of faculty service at Miami when he retired in 1957. Having entered Miami as a freshman in 1903, he had been associated with Miami more than a third of its lifetime. On retirement, he spent the 1957-58 school year at Hiram College setting up a geology department on a John Hay Whitney grant for retired professors.
He had established Miami's department of geology in 1920 and headed the department until 1956 when he stepped down as chairman but postponed retirement for the third time to devote a year to collecting notes and other materials gathered over the years.
The fraternity which he helped to establish at Miami in 1906 has grown to 72 chapters and almost 25,000 members. He had been its national comptroller since 1929 and just Wednesday afternoon stopped at its central office here to sign vouchers and "keep my work up to date." Only surviving founder is Taylor A. Borradaile, Washington D.C., Preble County native who is a chemist with the Veterans Administration.
Athletics Interest
Dr. Shideler had been a varsity distance runner as an undergraduate and had been a timer or judge at Miami track meets for half a century. he was a member of Miami's athletic advisory council 1918-58 and chairman of that group most of those years; was faculty representative to the Mid-American Conference and the old Buckeye Conference and had represented Miami at numerous meetings of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Fellow geologists had named several fossil discoveries after him.
He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, Phi Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa, the Geological Society of America, The Paleontological Society, the Ohio and Indiana Academies of Science and the American Association for Advancement of Science. He was a 32d Degree Mason, a Shriner and a member of Memorial Presbyterian Church here.
He was born at West Middletown, O., July 14, 1886, a son of Leander Pierce and Elizabeth Helwig Shideler. He was graduated from Miami in 1907, taught at Cornell University while working toward a doctor's degree, which he received there in 1910, and taught various sciences at Miami from 1910 until a separate department of geology was established in 1920.
He leaves the widow Katherine Hoffman Shideler, who has appeared as a speaker before many Southwestern Ohio women's groups; two sons, Dr. William W. Shideler, civilian geologist for the U.S. Army, now on leave for special graduate study at Ohio State University between assignments in Japan and Honolulu; and Dr. James H. Shideler of the history faculty of the University of California at Davis, and six grandchildren including Diane Shideler, a junior at Miami.
Inscription
Professor of Geology
Miami University
1910-1957
A Founder of
Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity
Family Members
Flowers
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