In Memoriam

2007 | 2006 | 2005

Rosemary McGill, reference and instruction and access services librarian, died May 2. She had been battling a brain tumor diagnosed in 2006. McGill, who had been born in England and raised in Nova Scotia, earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Dalhousie, a paralegal certificate from Denver Paralegal Institute and a master’s in library science from the San Jose State University program offered on campus in 1995. She joined the library in 1999 and had worked in reference and instruction, access services and collection and processing. She is survived by her daughters Brinton and Taylor Anderson-McGill.

Jeanne Skinner, first department secretary for the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures (now Modern Languages and Literatures) died April 26 of congestive heart failure. She was 96.

Skinner served on campus for 15 years before retiring in 1979, the same year she was honored as the University’s Outstanding Staff Employee. During her tenure on campus she was a member of the Staff Council for eight years, including the first year of its formation. She also was a member of the council’s elections and affirmative action committees, assisting in the writing of the campus affirmative action policy.

Her funeral will be held at 10 a.m. May 10 at St. Mary Magdalene, 205 S. Glassell St., Orange. She is survived by her daughter Susan Brown; two granddaughters and four great grandchildren.

Atara Stein, emeritus professor of English, comparative literature and linguistics, died March 21 at the age of 48 years. She taught on campus for 15 years, retiring in 2005 when her multiple sclerosis necessitated her early retirement.

Stein's scholarly interests included British romantic literature, popular literature and culture, and gender studies. In 2004, her book, "The Byronic Hero in Film, Fiction and Television" was published by Southern Illinois University Press.

"Atara's love and concern for her students was legendary," said Joseph Sawicki, chair and professor of English, comparative literature and linguistics. "Many stayed in contact with her, even after her retirement, by reading her blog."

In addition to her teaching and publishing interests, Stein served as faculty adviser for Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society. She also willingly served or chaired nearly every department committee. In 1998, she was an honorary inductee in the campus chapter of the Golden Key National Honor Society — in recognition of her contributions to the community, the university and its students.

She is survived by her children, Sarah and Bradley Van Winkle, and her ex-husband, Chris Van Winkle. A private funeral service was held and the family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the National MS Society, P.O. Box 4527, New York, NY 10163. Condolences may be sent to: The Family of Atara Stein, 5108 Nearglen Ave., Covina, CA 91724. A celebration of Stein's life will be held on campus at a later date.

Earl Kunde, a skilled laborer for Cal State Fullerton from 1975 to 1994, died Feb. 3 at the age of 78. A memorial service was held Feb. 16 in Mesa, Arizona. He is survived by his sons, Rick Kunde of Corona and Scott and Joanne Kunde of Mesa; daughters Kim Chittic and her husband, Michael, of Payson, Ariz., and Debbie Cuttingham and husband, Randy, of Riverside; 14 grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

Mary Kay Crouch, associate professor of English, comparative literature and linguistics, died Jan. 21 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Crouch joined the faculty in 1985. She held a bachelor’s degree in Latin from Southern Illinois University, a master’s degree in English from Cal State Long Beach and a doctorate in rhetoric, linguistics and literature from USC.

During more than 20 years on the university faculty, Crouch taught writing classes, detective fiction, and an English graduate course on writing theory and practice. She also supervised independent graduate research and coordinated the Developmental Writing Program. She was scheduled to supervise graduate students this semester.

Crouch is survived by her daughter Ursula.

Edsel F. Stiel, emeritus professor of mathematics and one of the earliest members of the department, died Jan. 18 of cancer. He was 74.

A member of the campus community for 40 years, Stiel joined the faculty in 1962 just before finalizing his doctoral dissertation at UCLA. Nine years later, he became the second individual to serve as department chair and has been recognized as being instrumental in the initial decisions regarding the department’s structure, including undergraduate and graduate curricula.

Stiel’s specialty was differential geometry but his interests went beyond mathematics. In addition to his degrees in mathematics, Stiel earned a master’s degree in psychology from Cal State Fullerton in 1975 and he became a licensed psychotherapist. He retired in 1997, then joined the Faculty Early Retirement Program and continued to teach until 2002.

Stiel and his family recently funded a perpetual award for each year’s outstanding mathematics student, the Stiel Prize for Excellence in Mathematics. He is survived by his wife, son and three daughters.