Kent JMC

Retired JMC professors Ralph Darrow, Henry Beck die

Darrow loved to tell bad jokes; the more you groaned, the more he enjoyed it

Ralph Darrow was a punster, a jokester, a teller of tall tales.

And those jokes and puns and stories produced grins, groans and grimaces from students and faculty at Kent JMC for two decades.

Now they're gone, and we miss them.

Darrow, a professor emeritus, who taught public relations from 1967-1988, died Oct. 17 at his Kent home. He was 86 and had suffered a severe stroke a few days earlier.

Ralph Darrow acknowledges applause as he was recognized for his service at Homecoming in 2002.

He played a major role in the development of the School of Journalism and its public relations program. He came to KSU in the fall of 1967, when former director Murv Perry hired him away from his job as Director of Public Relations for the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. branch in Des Moines, Iowa.

For the next 21 years, he taught hundreds of students the fundamentals of good writing, clear thinking, personal and corporate integrity, and loyalty to friends and employers.

Twice during the School's turbulent years in the 1970s and 1980s, Ralph was called upon to serve as Acting Director. He served with calm conservatism - and gentle humor - bringing the School through troubled times.

Even after his retirement, Ralph remained close to the School, stopping by to check his mail … and to tell a new joke he'd just heard. He attended almost all Homecoming lunches, brunches and dinners.

JMC professor Tim Smith told the Ravenna Record-Courier he would remember Ralph's "terrible puns." He added, "Ralph made the worst jokes ever, and the louder you'd groan, the greater delight he took in it."

Barb Hipsman, JMC professor, said, "He'll be missed by a couple generations of public relations students at Kent State."

Public relations students named the Kent chapter of PRSSA the Ralph C. Darrow Chapter. He received SPJ's

highest honor, the John S. Knight Award. He served as chief judge of the Akron Beacon Journal Spelling Bee for 15 years. And, he was an active and valued member of many community organizations.

Ralph was born July 23, 1918 in Columbus Junction, Iowa. He earned bachelor and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Iowa in 1948 and 1953. He served four years during World War II as a nose gunner in a B-24 in the Seventh Air Force.

Survivors include his wife, Fae; daughters, Carolyn, Jane and Mary; and four grandchildren. Burial was in Standing Rock Cemetery, Kent.

Contributions may be made to the Ralph C. Darrow Scholarship Fund. Contact Sharon Marquis for details.

--Fred Endres

Beck earned degrees in botany and biology, but always returned to first love, photography

Henry C. Beck, professor emeritus of journalism, who spent more than 30 years teaching photography to KSU students, died Nov. 6 at Cleveland Clinic following a brief illness.

A man of many interests and talents, he earned degrees in biology, botany and plant genetics, but practiced and taught photography at Kent State beginning in 1947, with breaks to work in other settings.

After graduation from Kent State in 1941, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps as a private, became chief photo

Henry Beck taught at KSU more than 30 years.

intelligence officer, 397th Bomb Group (M), serving in the ETO. He terminated his reserve commitments in 1953 with the rank of major.

In 1946 he edited and published a WWII collection of photographs titled Bridge Busters.

He and Carol Nellie Crites were married Sept. 3, 1950 near Tuscarawas, Ohio.

From 1954 to 1958 Beck was color coordinator for the Detroit Free Press and Miami (Fla.) Herald, and then picture editor of the Nashville Banner until his return to Kent State in 1960, where he proceeded to revive the nationally renowned Short Course in Press Photography.

After his retirement from Kent State in 1984, he joined his former student, Earl Clanton, to teach photography in his department at Norfolk State University for several years.

A dedicated reader in architecture, art, the sciences, mathematics and invention, he was both a gardener and a gourmet cook who enjoyed cooking for church dinners, family and friends.

He and his wife, Carol, a retired psychologist, traveled much of the time during his retirement years. At the time of his death, he was enrolled in computer classes to acquire the skills for his next big project - putting his thousands of World War II photographs of CDs so he could make Power Point presentations and share them with his "Band of Brothers." He had donated a collection of World War II photographs to the University Archives, which sponsored a showing of his work in the 1990s.

Beck was the first president of the B-26 Marauder Historical Society, and the current vice-president of the group, which meets monthly at the Martin Center on The University of Akron campus. He served as the B-26 Marauder Historical Society's photo officer and attended its annual reunion in Dayton in September. He was also a member of the Ninth Air Force Association, the Cleveland Restoration Society and several professional groups.

He is survived by his wife and his sons, Doug (Kathleen) Beck of Indianapolis, Ind., and Jonathan (Sharon) Beck of Carrollton, Texas, near Dallas.

He was a member of the United Church of Kent.

Memorials may be made to the Heifer Project International, 1015 Louisiana St., Little Rock, AK 72202, a nonprofit organization that helps impoverished families worldwide become more self-reliant through gifts of livestock and training in their care.

--Dick Bentley and Carol Beck

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