Stephen Dunthorne

Stephen DUNTHORNE Stephen Dunthorne died September 17, 2005. He was born in New York City on April 16, 1925, to Robert Gordon Dunthorne and Mary Allen Dunthorne. He spent much of his youth in both Washington, D.C., and Drake's Island, Maine. As a teenager he attended George School in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and then went directly into the Army Air Force. There he became an instructor and test pilot in single-engine aircraft, including P-40s, P-47s, and P-51s. He remembered most vividly August 4, 1944, when he received his wings. After the war ended, Stephen enrolled at the University of Washington and eventually earned an MFA in what was then called Commercial Art. He had taken a break from his studies to build a log house on Guemes Island, for he had become engaged to Virginia Read and was thinking ahead to life on the island. For a time he worked at Farwest Fisheries both on the water and in the office, and it was there, in March 1953, that he contracted a severe case of poliomyelitis. Life changed to learning to live with and around a disability, which he did with uncommon courage and inventiveness. Stephen and his family moved to Bellevue in August 1961 for his position as an Undergraduate Advisor on the faculty of the School of Art at the University of Washington. It was his purpose and joy for the next 29 years to serve students in the School of Art. His own creative work was in sculpture, his early work in wood and later in cast bronze. Stephen had a keen eye for the elements of design and appreciated good design whenever it occurred. Even though post-polio syndrome was limiting Stephen even more, retirement was long and happy. He had time to relax, monitor the birds in the back yard, do crossword puzzles, read widely, watch Ichiro, listen to Beethoven, and play afternoon mah-jongg games with dear friends. Two years ago he had heart by- pass surgery and realized that it was the gift of time. These last two years were a sweet coda on a 58-year marriage. Stephen leaves a bereaved wife, Virginia, beloved son and daughter-in-law Peter and Susan, treasured brother-in-law and sister-in-law, William and Arleen Read, cousins in England who have enriched our lives, and many who have been good friends through the years. One son, Robert, died of cancer in 1956. Losing an exemplary husband and father--one who did his part to keep order in the world as much as was humanly possible--reminds us of how much he has meant to his family. Our consolation is that he no longer is confined to a limited physical body and is free to fly again. There will be no services at his request, and without his specific instructions, we feel he would wish any contributions in his memory to go to the Boyer Gonzales and Elizabeth Bole Gonzales Scholarship Fund, UW School of Art, Box 353440, Seattle, Washington 98195-3440.