Fred Coombs

URBANA - Fred Stokes Coombs, 90, of Urbana, formerly of Lawrence, Kan., died peacefully Friday, April 5, 2024, surrounded by his wife and four children.

Fred was born May 20, 1933, in Belleville, Kan., to Lewis Madison Coombs and Ruth Virginia Stokes Coombs, and spent his formative years in Lawrence, Kan.

He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Nancy; four children, Susan Coombs of San Diego, Linda Graebner (Paul) of Eugene, Ore., Anne VanArsdell (Will) of Hardwick, Mass., and Steve Coombs (Nicole) of Verona, Wis.; 11 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

His younger brother, Frank Alan Coombs of Salt Lake City, preceded him in death.

As a young child, Fred witnessed Winston Churchill's arrival in Fulton, Mo., prior to Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech. By age 9, Fred built a crystal radio for World War II news, interviewed mayors and appeared on local radio stations. Fred's high school activities included orchestra, two bands (trumpet), choir, co-editor of the newspaper, football, theater, a weekly local radio program and honors.

In 1951, Fred entered the University of Kansas on an NROTC scholarship, graduating with a B.S. in education in 1955, and was commissioned as an ensign in the United States Navy. During and after college, sea duty and Navy cruises took him to Northern Ireland, England, Spain, France, South America, Micronesia, the Arctic (Distant Early Warning radar stations) and the Weddell Sea in the Antarctic (Operation Deep Freeze).

In 1958, he married his high school sweetheart, Nancy Underwood. They moved to Menlo Park, Calif., where Fred completed an M.A. in education at Stanford University. After teaching social studies for three years at James Lick High School in San Jose, Calif., they moved to Illinois, where Fred completed Ph.D. studies in political science at the University of Illinois while teaching social studies at University High School.  

In 1970, as an assistant professor of political science with a $64,000 grant from the ESSO Educational Foundation, Dr. Coombs developed political games for PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations) in an era of mainframes, well before personal computers. In 1973-74, Fred and four other UI professors received a Ford Foundation Grant to carry out a comparative study of educational policy in Italy, France, England, West Germany and Sweden. His Paris office at the International Institute for Educational Planning, a UNESCO affiliate, was ideal except for the daily TGV commute from our family's apartment in Massy-Palaiseau. It was a life-altering year in France for our family.

In 1974, Fred joined the Department of Educational Policy Studies in the UI College of Education, where he developed new graduate courses in politics of education, including an advanced graduate seminar in educational policy analysis, as well as courses in educational statistics and educational reform. The courses in the politics of education formed the core of his instructional offerings for the next 23 years. They were frequently rated excellent by students in The Daily Illini.

Fred was tapped to direct a new office for research on state educational policy, the Office for the Analysis of State Educational Systems. A computer simulation of the Illinois state school aid formula; a research library on state school systems around the country; funding for internships, speakers and research projects; as well as approval of a new EPS graduate program in educational policy analysis, grew from that. Fred considered graduate seminars on educational policy analysis his major contributions to the EPS department. 

Fred served as associate dean for graduate studies from 1987-95 and for six months as acting dean of education. Before retiring, Fred served on the board of the Urban League of Champaign County (1989-95) and on the Urbana school board.

In 1991, he taught educational policy for a master's program at Kenya Polytechnic Institute in Nairobi; in 1996, he gave a series of lectures across China funded by the World Bank. From 1992-97, he developed a graduate program for the teaching faculty at the Santa Fe Indian School. Two faculty members earned Ph.D.s and 14 completed master's degrees; he considered it one of the most fulfilling experiences of his career. Fred had spent a summer 42 years previously as a custodian in that school, while his father taught a workshop there.

Fred retired from his academic career on May 20, 1997, but continued mentoring graduate students as emeritus for a few years. When asked what he most enjoyed during his career, Fred replied advising students.

By 1999, Fred designed a house on 80 acres of family farmland near Holton, Kan. For almost two decades, Fred and Nancy worked with native plant scientists and graduate students from the University of Kansas and the Kansas Native Plant Society restoring the farm to native prairie. Both served on the KNPS board, restoring native plants along roadsides across the state, organizing a six-county KNPS regional group for northeast Kansas exploration of native areas, as well as hosting several tours of their own prairie restoration project.

Fred, the quintessential family man, organized landmark family vacations across our country and abroad. He was a regular at his children's school events, sports meets and musical and theatrical performances. Fred will be remembered as a kind and thoughtful man whose good judgment and sharp intellect were consistently reliable. He had hilarious comic timing. He was also musically gifted, playing trumpet, guitar, piano and singing with family throughout his life. Above all, he valued human relationships, a devoted father and dear husband, always curious to learn from others. He will be greatly missed.

In place of a memorial service, family will gather in his honor to release cremains over their restored prairie.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Kansas Native Plant Society, R.L. McGregor Herbarium, 2045 Constant Ave., Lawrence, KS 66047-3729; the University of Illinois Department of Educational Policy Studies, Education Building, 1310 S. Sixth St., Champaign, IL 61820; or parkinsonfoundation.org.