Paul Leroy Splitstone

I was a prof at Alma College from 1968 through 1975, and got to know Paul as a colleague. As Patrick Furlong commented, Paul was a man of catholic interests, well beyond his science specialties. He was the epitome of a liberally educated man. I also appreciated his dry wit. I always wondered how much students appreciated him, because he probably was a very reserved presenter of information. He was a delightful dinner guest and a lover of public television programs. He was also very kind. I did visit him a few times after I left the college and he always greeted me warmly.

Paul was one of my favorite people at Alma College - he had retired a year before I arrived, after many years serving as a professor teaching physics, but he kept a small office on campus and he was one of a group of retired faculty with whom for many years I regularly had lunch in the faculty dining room as long as it still existed. He was the last of that group of emeriti, our institutional memory that kept us connected to our past. I feel immensely sad to realize that we have now lost that.

Paul was a wise and gentle soul with an endless spirit of curiosity, always ready with more questions about my background, college affairs, science , health, world events, or whatever caught his fancy. That little group was our institutional memory. A quiet, self-effacing man, many underestimated him - he had not been not been a showman in his teaching style nor was he given to dramatics in his personal interactions, but he was a very good listener and I learned that he had shown endless patience in helping students who struggled with complex concepts. He had a wry sense of humor and I enjoyed his company. I will miss him.

Patrick Furlong