[Reading-hall-of-fame] A heartfelt loss - Bob Dykstra

[P David Pearson]

a sweet memory, Tom!
pdavid

On Mon, Feb 12, 2024 at 7:35 PM Tom Nicholson <T.Nicholson at massey.ac.nz>
wrote:

> Kia ora, everyone,
>
> Here are some of my memories of Bob Dykstra …
>
>
>
> When Nora and I peered into Bob Dykstra’s office at U Minnesota in the
> 1970s, I was slightly star-struck, there he was, the co-author of the First
> Grade Studies (FGS). When he saw us at the door, to say he was surprised
> was an understatement but he welcomed us in. I’d applied to do a doctorate
> and had managed to gain acceptance but he had advised me to wait until the
> following year. However, I was so excited about getting accepted that we
> just packed up our things in Adelaide, sold everything, and flew to
> Minneapolis. So there we were, standing at his door, he must have thought
> what the hell do I do now? Yet a few days later I was enrolled and had some
> TA work. Bob and his wife Lou Ann had us poor students many times to their
> home for dinner. This is where we saw another side of Bob – the singer. At
> Minnesota, I felt totally supported and Bob never wavered from that even
> when I once had to convince the graduate committee that my thesis ideas
> were not totally crazy. As Bob’s TA, the job I remember most was to
> retrieve boxes of computer punch cards from the basement of Burton Hall.
> Someone wanted to re-analyse the FGS data. There I was, looking at this
> huge pile of cards. I think there were 30,000 children in the study. At the
> time, I had never even seen a computer, so to me the cards were like gold
> bars. A couple of years ago, I got an email out of the blue from Bob, he’d
> seen a hand-painted birthday card I’d sent to a friend and wrote to say hi.
> It was nice to reconnect briefly. Now he is gone, a person much loved not
> just by those closest to him but also by some far away.
>
>
>
> Nga mihi, tom
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Reading-hall-of-fame <
> reading-hall-of-fame-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk> *On Behalf Of *P
> David Pearson
> *Sent:* Tuesday, 6 February 2024 8:57 PM
> *To:* reading hall of fame <reading-hall-of-fame at lists.nottingham.ac.uk>
> *Subject:* [Reading-hall-of-fame] A heartfelt loss
>
>
>
> I learned just 36 hours ago that Robert Dykstra died in his early 90s.  I
> have not had time to think about a more professional memory, but I will.
> In the meantime, here is a more personal memory, which I shared with his
> kids and their families.
>
>
>
> I have so many wonderful memories of your Dad.
>
>
>
> First, as a teacher: I took two of his courses as a doc student at
> Minnesota in the late 1960s. Fair, encouraging--but willing to let you know
> when your logic or writing was sloppy.
>
>
>
> Second, as a scholar: Whose commitment to improving the teaching and
> learning of reading, writing, and language was a model I tried to emulate.
>
>
>
> Third, as my boss: He chaired the department I was in at Minnesota-fairly,
> firmly, with the right balance of gravitas and humor.
>
>
>
> Fourth, as a comrade: from the mid 1970s through 2015, he and I belonged
> to an informal group of "guys" who met on the first weekend in June to
> travel from Minneapolis to one or another resort-affiliated golf course in
> northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, or (on 3 occasions) Iowa for an extended
> weekend during which we fine-tuned our skills at our 3 favorite pastimes:
> golf, poker, and gastronomic (both food and libations) delights. We got the
> idea of creating a faux organization to camouflage our real intentions, so
> we created Lodge 1147, with fake officers to run the faux organization. We
> regrouped every summer, with two of us returning from new homes across the
> country, for 38 years before death, frailty, and memory began to decimate
> our numbers. I moved from Minneapolis in 1978, but returned every year to
> connect with this special group of guys to reminisce, lampoon one another,
> and laugh a lot at the world and ourselves. My last trip to Minnesota for
> this event was in 2015.  Reconnecting and visiting one on one with Bobby D,
> as we called him, was a top priority for me. Somehow, across all those
> years, we managed to pick up in mid sentence from the year before.
>
> Such good memories. Such a quietly warm and modestly kind human being.
> Such a friend. I miss him, but am comforted by these memories.
>
>
>
> Gravitas and Humor
>
> That is how I will remember him.
>
> David
>
>
>
> --
>
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
> *"If you are free, you need to free somebody else.  If you have some
> power, then your job is to empower somebody else." *Toni Morrison
>
> *"**The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they
> don't have any."* Alice Walker
>
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
> P. David Pearson
>
> Evelyn Lois Corey *Emeritus* Professor of Instructional Science
>
> Graduate School of Education
>
> University of California, Berkeley
>
>
>
> email:  ppearson at berkeley.edu
>
> other e-mail:  pdavidpearsondean at gmail.com
>
> *website for publications*:  www.pdavidpearson.org
>
> PDP's YouTube Channel
> <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxzlpPFD04yyV5_kzRZ1ofw>:
>
>
>
> *******************
>
> *Please use HOME ADDRESS for responses*
>
> 110 41st Street, Apt 401
>
> Oakland CA 94611-5237
>
> iPhone:  510 543 6508
>
> ****************************************
>
>
>


-- 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

*"If you are free, you need to free somebody else.  If you have some power,
then your job is to empower somebody else." *Toni Morrison

*"*The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't
have any." Alice Walker
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
P. David Pearson
Evelyn Lois Corey *Emeritus* Professor of Instructional Science
Graduate School of Education
University of California, Berkeley

email:  ppearson at berkeley.edu
other e-mail:  pdavidpearsondean at gmail.com
website for publications:  www.pdavidpearson.org
PDP's YouTube Channel
<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxzlpPFD04yyV5_kzRZ1ofw>:

*******************
*Please use HOME ADDRESS for responses*
110 41st Street, Apt 401
Oakland CA 94611-5237
iPhone:  510 543 6508
****************************************
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