Stan was my Blaisdell Hall roommate for several semesters, as well as being my lead trumpet player in the Pep Band. In 1968, he and I, along with "Minty" Mike Kearsey and Dan Raymond (both Class of '71) formed the Damnation Army Band, playing gigs in the old Observatory; since we were not welcome to participate in the President's Ox Roast event for new students at the start of fall semester, we held our own extempore performance on the steps of Chapin Hall. You'll note Stan [center] on the washtub bass, as we regale the crowd with favorites such as "Bananas Are Better," "He's Weird!" and "Eagle Stew."
Post-Beloit, Stan and I both taught for a few years at Beloit Turner High School, and then followed similar career paths to the Library/Information Science grad program at the University of Wisconsin, thereafter going on to careers in academic librarianship. Stan eventually became Library Director at Ohio Wesleyan University, where he was highly respected and much beloved. Among his claims to fame, Stan cultivated an interest in cryptology, to the point that Dan Brown consulted with him during the writing of The Da Vinci Code (if you take a look at Brown's acknowledgements, you'll see Stan's name among the elect).
Several years after Stan's retirement from OWU, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. After a short sojourn in hospice care, he died on January 14, 2017. Here is a link to his Legacy site:
In it you'll find a detail from one of my favorite memory-photos of the years we shared at Beloit: the Pep Band's "formal" Homecoming photo from the fall term, 1968. (Stan is in the third row, 4th from the right.)
Allan Kohl
Stan was my Blaisdell Hall roommate for several semesters, as well as being my lead trumpet player in the Pep Band. In 1968, he and I, along with "Minty" Mike Kearsey and Dan Raymond (both Class of '71) formed the Damnation Army Band, playing gigs in the old Observatory; since we were not welcome to participate in the President's Ox Roast event for new students at the start of fall semester, we held our own extempore performance on the steps of Chapin Hall. You'll note Stan [center] on the washtub bass, as we regale the crowd with favorites such as "Bananas Are Better," "He's Weird!" and "Eagle Stew."
Post-Beloit, Stan and I both taught for a few years at Beloit Turner High School, and then followed similar career paths to the Library/Information Science grad program at the University of Wisconsin, thereafter going on to careers in academic librarianship. Stan eventually became Library Director at Ohio Wesleyan University, where he was highly respected and much beloved. Among his claims to fame, Stan cultivated an interest in cryptology, to the point that Dan Brown consulted with him during the writing of The Da Vinci Code (if you take a look at Brown's acknowledgements, you'll see Stan's name among the elect).
Several years after Stan's retirement from OWU, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. After a short sojourn in hospice care, he died on January 14, 2017. Here is a link to his Legacy site:
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/stanley-planton-obituary?pid=183628444
In it you'll find a detail from one of my favorite memory-photos of the years we shared at Beloit: the Pep Band's "formal" Homecoming photo from the fall term, 1968. (Stan is in the third row, 4th from the right.)
Thanks for the friendship, Stan. Rest in peace.
Allan Kohl