Don Reynolds Obituary

Donald Lloyd Reynolds, Jr., age 86, passed away October 2, 2015, from complications related to Parkinson’s disease. He lived in Ashland, Ore. nearly 50 years, serving as professor at Southern Oregon University for 30 of those years. 

Don was born in Centralia, Wash., August 25, 1929. He graduated high school in 1947 in Bremerton, Wash. In 1951 he received a B.A. in Communications from Washington State College. Active in many aspects of campus life at WSC, Don belonged to Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, and served on numerous campus committees. 

In summers he worked at Paradise Lodge on Mt. Rainier, where he made many life-long friends. Here he developed a love for the outdoors and for Mt. Rainier. He returned to the mountain as a park ranger during graduate school and many times during his lifetime. It was his spiritual home. 

Don was drafted into the U.S. Army soon after graduation from WSC. He was assigned to the Signal Corps, and given high-level security status. He served on the island of Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands, receiving and transmitting military intelligence. 

After military service, Don attended graduate school at the University of Washington. He completed his Ph.D. coursework in 1960. While working on his dissertation, he took a full-time teaching position at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash. where he taught for six years. He completed his dissertation receiving his Ph.D in 1967. That year he accepted the position of Associate Professor in the English Department at Southern Oregon College in Ashland, Ore. 

While at PLU, Don met Phyllis Holum when she joined the English faculty at PLU in 1964. At that time Don was a single parent to his son by his previous marriage. Don and Phyllis married in 1966. 

Don was passionate about academic life: he loved teaching literature and writing, and about the importance of liberal arts. He loved challenging students to think and reflect, and was avid in mentoring students toward success beyond college. He was a campus leader both at the departmental level and in university governance. He was actively involved in the operation of the Faculty Senate and establishment of a faculty union. He remained a fierce advocate for student and faculty rights throughout his career. 

Don was a lifelong “student” himself: during sabbaticals (two in England and one at the University of California, Irvine) he did scholarly research and writing. In 1980 he was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to study at Yale. He retired as Emeritus Professor in 1997. 

Don had many interests outside his work—books, hiking, music (classical and jazz), and art. He collected fine wines, made Italian bread, and was a dedicated college football fan. He served as volunteer usher at Oregon Shakespeare Festival in the 1990s. 

Following retirement, Don continued his association with SOU by serving on the Council of the Retirees Association. And he and Phyllis became world travelers: they saw much of Europe, took walking tours through Tuscany and Provence and adventure tours through Burma, Peru, and Central America. Every fall for 15 years, they drove to western national parks. Don’s enviable vigor throughout his life was epitomized by a bicycle tour in Poland during the summer of 2007 when he turned 78. 

Don is survived by his wife of 49 years, Phyllis, Ashland, Ore.; his son, Donald Lloyd Reynolds, III and daughter-in-law, Pamela Rhyne; grandchildren, Aya Lyddon (Naseem Hamide), Eugene, Ore. and Sol Reynolds (Lily Mai), Seattle, Wash.; great-grandchildren, Emma and Isobelle Lyddon, and Hassan Hamide, Eugene, Ore.; sisters-in-law, Shirley Holum DeBower and Kay Holum Overby; as well as numerous nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and nephews, and the many friends he loved as family in Ashland, throughout the U.S., and in England and Germany. 

A funeral service will be held Saturday, October 17, 2015, 2:00 p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 44 N. Second Street, Ashland, Ore.. 

Phyllis and the family would like to thank the home caregivers from All Care Home Health and the staff at Farmington Square for the devoted care he received during the last years of his illness. 

In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Southern Oregon University Retirees' Scholarship Fund, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd, Ashland, Ore.. 97520, Southern Oregon Land Conservancy, 84 4th St., Ashland, Ore, or the Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama.