NIU Today

Edna C. Williams, who taught voice in the NIU School of Music from 1965 to 1994, died New Year’s Eve in Chicago. She was 79. The internationally known soprano, who also was born in Chicago, continued to give private lessons after her retirement from NIU and also served as a piano accompanist for many musical...

NIU employee Lana L. Marten, who proudly worked in the Student Financial Aid Office for more than 40 years and helped tens of thousands of students pay for their NIU education, died Thursday, Nov. 22, in Rockford. She was 70. Marten was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in DeKalb, where she was active in...

George M. Shur, who served as general counsel for Northern Illinois University from 1983 until his retirement in 2003, died Sunday, Nov. 25. He was 70. An avid supporter of education and the community, Shur also served president of the board of education for DeKalb Community Unit School District 428. A memorial service will take...

Alfred F. Young, a professor emeritus in NIU’s Department of History and pioneer in the field of early American history, died Nov. 6, in Durham, N.C., according to a published obituary. He was 87. Young was a past recipient of the award for distinguished service in the historical profession from the Organization of American Historians....

James W. Myles, a member of the original NIU Board of Trustees, died Oct. 13 at North Shore Hospital after a short illness. He was 75. During the board’s organizational meeting, held Jan. 3, 1996, in the Clara Sperling Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center, former NIU Trustee Manny Sanchez nominated Myles for secretary....

Former Northern Illinois running back and kick returner Rodney Taylor died Sunday in Iowa City, Iowa. Taylor, who played for NIU from 1985 to 1988, was 46. Taylor came to NIU from Davenport Central High School, where he was an all-state honoree and helped lead the Blue Devils to a state title in 1983. Despite...

The NIU community is mourning the death of Arthur Paul Doederlein, a dedicated and beloved professor in the Department of Communication who, over the course of more than four decades, made an impact on the lives of thousands of students. Doederlein, 70, died Friday, Aug. 24, at Kishwaukee Community Hospital, with his family by his...

Ellen Speiden Parham died Monday Feb. 13, in her home. She was 73. Parham was born July 15, 1938, in Culpeper, Virginia. She was preceded in death by her husband of 49 years, Arthur Robert Parham Jr., and by both her parents. She is survived by her daughters, Katharine Parham of Boone, North Carolina and...

Tim Emmons, director and general manager of Northern Public Radio since 1997, died at home Saturday after a long battle with colon cancer. He was 53. Emmons is survived by his wife, Charlene, their son, Daniel, and their daughter, Jordan. Funeral services are planned during the morning of Saturday, Feb. 25, at Christ Community Church,...

Richard E. Beard, who taught in the NIU School of Art from 1966 until his retirement in 1996, died Monday, Jan. 30, in Sarasota, Fla. He was 83. Beard, who specialized in painting and drawing, won a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship award in 1983. Near the end of his NIU career, he created “Academic Animals,” a...

Bill Terwilliger, a two-sport standout at Northern Illinois and the oldest living member of the NIU Athletic Hall of Fame, died Thursday, Jan. 26. He was 93. Terwilliger was a basketball and track and field star at NIU from 1938-41, earning three letters in basketball and four in track and field. He was elected to...

Moses Mutuku, who cried as a child because he had no books to read, wanted to give opportunities to the children of his rural Kenyan homeland. Opportunities to learn. To grow. To gain the aspirations and tools for careers other than farming. The professor in NIU’s College of Education frequently returned home to foster educational...