Over the years, CAS has mourned the loss of a number of its members. Remembrances of those for whom we have a record are included here in chronological order. This list was compiled by Jay Elkes in November 1997. My apologies for any items I missed.
CAS members will be saddened to learn of the death of Mr. Bill Weakley during mid-August. Bill had been hospitalized for about a month before he was operated on for a brain tumor, - he never recovered from the operation. Bill loved astronomy. It was one of the absorbing interestd during the past few years. In fact, his telescope accompanied him on trips to visit his family, where he conducted one-man star parties and talked to neighbors and children about astronomy.
Bill worked for a number of years at the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation, and at the time of his death co-workers took up a collection of almost fifty dollars which was turned over to CAS to be used as a kind of memorial to Bill. CAS members will be informed later about the use of this money.
For the past three years, Bill has served CAS as co-librarian along with Dick Wisecarver. He was a quiet, gentle man, a devoted and faithful CAS member, and those of us who knew him well are richer for the relatively short association with him[2].
We are saddened by the death last month of Dr. C. E. Hesthal, retired professor of physics at OSU. A long-time honorary member of the society, his lectures and demonstrations over the years on the nature of light were popular among those of us who knew him.
Steadman Thompson, only life CAS member, joined the society shortly after it was organized. And from then on, anyone who attended a regular meeting, star party, or other CAS activity became familiar with his large shape, pipe, beard, and twinkling blue eyes.
People were astonished by his phenomenal memory, which he
used to expound to one and all on matters great and small, astronomical and
otherwise. Beause of his understanding of the elements
of astronomy he was he was able to discuss and argue sophisticated points on
the subject. His special interest was selenogrophy on
which he was a real authority, and he was probably more familiar with the
details of a lunar map than he was a map of the State of
His home on
Late in 1955, Stead spearheaded the organization of the
Columbus Moonwatch team. He was a member of the
national committee to set up Moonwatch teams
throughout the
Stead moved to
Steve Kahler, past CAS member, has
kept in close contact with Stead while attending the
Charles H. Worch joined the society in January of 1957, after discovering he was unable to answer one of his son's questions about astronomy. He was soon fascinated by the subject, and his curiosity carried him further and further intop his newly-found hobby.
Then Charles' skill at working with his hands and his knowledge of mechanics was turned upon astronomy, which led to the production of several fine home-made telescopes. He seemed to have a different scope of his own design at each CAS star party - from 4" and 6" reflectors to a 5" rich-field refractor.
But the scope which occupied most of his attention was the 10" reflector, mounted on top of his garage underneath a dome of his manufacture. This set-up soon became a major attraction for society members as the Worch home on Courtright road was the site of many CAS meetings and observing sessions.
In 1959, Charles was appointed to a special CAS Planning Committee for Ways and Means of Obtaining Additional Income. Largely through his work, the CAS sold tickets to raffle off a telescope during the summer of 1959. His efforts made the fund drive a success.
Charles Worch was elected as President of the CAS in 1960, and re-elected in 1961; and his dedication saw that the CAS was to continue to prosper and develop.
Soon after Charles left office, he was inflicted with several very serious illnesses, and spent much time in the hospital. He was unable to attend CAS meetings, and left our group in 1965.
In 1961, the South Side YMCA acquired the Worch observatory, and relocated it to the South Side Y-Park. This facility was dedicated as "Borror Observatory" on September 28, 1961. Recently the CAS contacted Charles about his recommendations on the rebuilding of the Borror telescope. Although he had just returned from the hospital following his last operation, he was enthusiastic about our CAS activities, and he has been receiving our Prime Focus.
On December 22, 1970, Charles succumbed to his long fight with illness, and the CAS lost a friend. We extend our sympathy to Evelyn Worch and their family.
It is with sadness that we announce the death if long-time CAS member Val Isham, who passed away on January 25th after a long illness. Val had been a member since shortly after the society's founding[7], and had been a regular attendee at the annual appreciation dinner. We'll miss him.
A stargazer fades
With great sadness, I must report
the death of Jane Gann on Thursday, Oct. 6[9]. Jane was one of the founding members[10]
of the Columbus Astronomical Society in the late 1940s.
I have written previously about
her lifelong commitment to amateur astronomy. She helped to organize the Moonwatch Program, which allowed local stargazers to be
among the first to observe artificial Earth satellites after the launch of
Sputnik in the late 1950s.
She helped to create the club's
extensive program of public
astronomical activities, which
continue to this day in conjunction with Perkins Observatory.
She organized and participated in
many trips to far-flung regions of the world to observe solar eclipses. She was
a longtime organizer of the nationally-based Astronomical League.
Her passion for astronomy never
faltered, despite the slow
deterioration of a stargazer's
most precious tool, her eyesight. Toward the end, she organized stargazing
programs for the other residents of her retirement community. She stood with
them on the roof of her apartment building and observed the heavens, despite
the fact that she had to use binoculars to see even the brightest of
astronomical objects. We take the naked-eye views of Venus and the moon for
granted. Jane had to struggle to
see them, but struggle she did, to
the very end of her days.
She was the heart and soul of
astronomy in central
decades. During that time, she touched the lives of
thousands of beginning stargazers, including a young amateur astronomer who,
with her patient help, ended up being director of Perkins Observatory.
The night after Jane passed on,
the sky was clearer than I have seen it in many months. The stars shone
brilliantly against a velvety black void.
I stood alone for a moment at Perkins and tried to celebrate Jane's
life, to feel the joy that she would have felt at a sky so full of stars.
But I couldn't help feeling that
one of those stars was missing, tragically erased from the firmament of our
lives.
I lost a friend a few weeks ago. A quiet friend, but one who was always there.
Roy Meyers was driving home from the November CAS meeting at
Perkins when he felt ill and stopped at a close friend's house. They called 911
after he complained of chest and arm pains.
We have lost two members recently. Jane Gann was much like
Who among us hasn't dreamed as a child of becoming a professional astronomer? It's a very common aspiration. Almost unheard of is the professional astronomer who actively participates in a club of local amateurs. Dr. Walter Mitchell was such an astronomer.
The earliest club record I can find regarding him dates back to November 18, 1964, when he talked to the club on "Life in a Mountain Observatory"[12]. He regularly supported CAS activities over the intervening decades.
I first met Walt in 1979, shortly after I had joined CAS. I remember an early visit to Perkins Observatory. An out of town friend of mine was with me. My friend had written an article for a small astronomy publication a few years before. Walt scanned the then enormous collection of publications in the Perkins library and dug up the issue in a couple minutes.
Walt's professional interest was solar astronomy. He had and used a heliostat for some of his work that is still at Perkins. CAS members may best remember him for hosting several meetings we held at Smith Lab's planetarium.
In 1991, Walt and I chased the Solar eclipse in Baja. We
spent a week cruising the
Walt's health started failing in 1996. He died after an extended hospital stay. He will be missed by his colleagues at the OSU Astronomy department and his numerous friends in the CAS.
[1] Copied verbatim from Aug-Sept 1961 Prime Focus
[2] Mr. Weakly was listed as a new member of the club in January, 1959.
[3] Copied verbatim from September 1966 Prime Focus.
[4] Copied verbatim from January 1969 Prime Focus.
[5] Copied verbatim from January 1971 Prime Focus
[6] As printed in February 1981 Prime Focus.
[7] The September 1957 Prime Focus introduced him as a new member.
[8] Copyright Tom Burns, October 1994, as printed in the Columbus Dispatch. Reprinted here with the author's permission.
[9] October 6, 1994.
[10] The October, 1953 Prime Focus greets her as a member at that time, some six years after the founding of the club. (Jay Elkes)
[11] Mark Bungart wrote this, printed in January 1996 Prime Focus.
[12] Prime Focus November, 1964.