Members of the Cannon Valley Elder Collegium were recently saddened to learn of the death of George Soule,  who was an important teacher as well as contributor to the leadership of the organization.    A portion of his obituary is as follows:

George Alan Soule of Northfield, age 81, died on December 24, 2011, at United Hospitals, St. Paul, after a short illness.  George was born on March 3, 1930, in Fargo, ND, to George Alan Soule and Ruth Georgina Knudsen Soule.  At Fargo High School, he was editor of the newspaper and played the saxophone in the band.  He also was a member of the concert band of the Interlochen Arts Camp. He graduated from Carleton College, Summa cum Laude, in 1951, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1952 he won a Rotary Fellowship to attend the University of Cambridge.

George earned an M.A. in 1956 and a Ph.D. in 1960 in English Literature at Yale University where he was awarded a Sterling Fellowship.   In 1958, he became an Instructor in English at Oberlin College, and in 1960, an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  He joined Carleton’s faculty as an Assistant Professor of English in 1962, and during 1966 he directed Carleton’s Centennial Celebration.  In the 1980’s, he established the Carleton Summer Writing Program, a pre-college course in composition for high school juniors and seniors.  He was Chair of the Carleton English Department from 1980 to 1983 and retired as a Professor Emeritus in 1995.

From 1998 to 2009 he taught in Northfield’s Cannon Valley Elder Collegium, serving as its Vice Chair from 2003 to 2005, Chair from 2005 through 2007, and as a member of the Board of Directors.  From 2003 to 2007, he was a lecturer at the Wordsworth Winter School in Wordsworth’s home village of Grasmere, in England’s Lake District.

George enjoyed traveling, dining out, going to the theater, cooking, and watching The Young and the Restless and Jeopardy, becoming Champion of the Senior Tournament in 1990.  He is survived by his wife, Carolyn Soule, of Northfield, his daughter, Kate Soule, and two granddaughters, Taylor and Zoë, of Etna, NH.  A memorial service will be held during Carleton’s reunion weekend, on June 15, at 9:30 a.m. in the Carleton Chapel.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to a memorial fund that has been established at Carleton College and contributions in his memory may be sent to Carleton College, One North College Street, Northfield, MN 55057, or contributions may be sent to the Cannon Valley Elder Collegium, addressed to Barbara Jenkins, CVEC Finance Committee,  514 Sumner St., Northfield, MN, 55057.

We are very sad to report the death of George Soule, on Dec. 24 at United Hospital.    He was one of CVEC’s devoted teachers and board members,  and Chair of its board in ’06 and ’07.    I had the privilege of attending his class on Jane Austen in spring of ’06, and of being his friend and neighbor.    It was he who persuaded me to join the board in ’07, and so  for me this is a personal loss as well as a loss to our community.    We also mourn the passing of Deane Barbour,  wife of Ian Barbour, who has taught many courses to CVEC on the topic of the interplay of science and religion.

We also must report that Bob Bonner regrets he will be unable, because of a significant health problem, to conduct his scheduled class, Plains Indians in the 19th Century, in the upcoming winter term.    This was one of the first classes to fill, and I know how upset the 20 registrants will feel about this.

In an effort to  redress this loss,  Jim McDonnell,  our curriculum director, is offering to teach again a course on Shakespeare, at the same time formerly scheduled for the Bonner class,  Thursdays at 1:30-3:30, in the same setting at Village on the Cannon.    Here is his own course description:

Jim McDonnell, Two plays of Shakespeare

The course will focus on Julius Caesar and Hamlet, two of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, both written in the wondrous creative period 1599-1600. While they have many superficial similarities of theme (for example, the disorder attendant upon violent regime change and the conflict between thought and decisive action), they are remarkably different in style and in their conceptions of tragedy. Since the Guthrie is presenting Julius Caesar in late January, members of the class may choose to see and discuss the production. There are, of course, many interesting movie versions of Hamlet, some of which we will discuss in order to gain insight into the multiple possible meanings of Shakespeare’s most complex play.

Jim McDonnell retired from Carleton College in 2007 after teaching there for nearly 40 years in the English Department. He started as a specialist in Victorian literature, but in the last twenty years his interests changed to Shakespeare and Irish Literature. Having acted in many productions of Shakespeare, he has a particular interest in the effect of stage and movie interpretations on the impact of the plays.

The entire CVEC board joins me in expressing our  deep regrets over the above reports, and in our best wishes that Bob will be hale and hearty soon, and perhaps able to give his obviously-popular course in a future term.     David Halsor will shortly be contacting each of the students registered for the Bonner course to explain the options now open to them.
Sincerely yours,    Ed Lufkin,  Exec. Director, CVEC