It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of some of brothers A. Rodney Boren ’38, Ken Klug ’65, Robert Clark ’56 and John Beese, Jr. ’58. Though they are no longer with us, they will remain forever in the hearts and memories of their friends and family.
BorenA. Rodney Boren ’38—via Legacy.com
A lifelong resident of Dayton, OH, and also formerly of New York City and Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, A. Rodney Boren passed away on January 12, at the Otterbein Community in Monclova Ohio, five months prior to his 100th birthday. Born in Dayton on June 14, 1916, to Herbert S. and Katharine Miller Boren, he spent his early years in Dayton and Middletown. He attended Oakwood High School where, under the tutelage of Ed Cook, he was the quarterback of the league champion varsity football team and undefeated miler on the track team and set the record for the mile that wasn’t broken until the mid-fifties.
After graduating from Oakwood in 1934 he attended Kenyon College where he joined Delta Tau Delta fraternity and continued his competitive sporting career on the football, track and flying teams. After graduating from Kenyon in 1938, he enlisted in the Navy and continued his love of flying as an aviator and pilot trainer throughout WWII. After being relieved by the Navy of his commitment not to marry during his term of service, he married his high school sweetheart, Charlotte Polk, in March 1941. After being discharged from the Navy as a Lt. Commander in 1947, he was appointed Commander of the Ohio National Guard 121st Fighter squadron from which he retired as a Colonel in 1953. In 1952 he served as chairman of the Dayton International Air Show working closely with aviation friends General Edwin Rawlings and Secretary of the Air Force, Harold Talbott. During this same period he served as an alumni trustee of Kenyon College.
He began his business career with the Mead Corporation in 1949 and served in several positions before being named Vice-President of Sales in 1957. In 1961 he became President and Treasurer of the Fourdrinier Kraft Board Institute (FKI) in New York City and he served in this position until his retirement in 1977. While in New York he lived in the Murray HiIl section of Manhattan and was a member of the Canadian Club and the Union League Club, where he was an avid squash player. Upon retirement he returned to Dayton and to the home on Runnymede Road in Oakwood that he and his wife built in 1949 and where they spent their summers while living in New York. He served on various community boards such as the YMCA , American Red Cross, Dayton Museum of Natural History, the Aviation Hall of Fame, and vestry of St.Paul’s Episcopal church in Oakwood. He was a member of the 39ers, the 49ers, Miami Valley Hunt and Polo Club, and Moraine Country Club in Dayton. As a golf enthusiast and proud member of Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey for 50 years, he spent his later years playing all of Golf Magazine and Golf Digest’s Top 100 courses listings from 1969 onward, all US and British Open courses, and every course that hosted the Walker and Ryder Cup matches.
Predeceased by his wife of 65 years, Charlotte Polk Boren, brother, Herbert Boren, and sister, Betty Lee Wood, Mr. Boren is survived by his daughter, Katharine Elizabeth Millhon of Perrysburg, Ohio, and her children Andrew Millhon (Kimberley) of Waccabuc, New York, and daughter, Polk Prud’homme (Samuel) of Seattle; and his son, Rodney Boren Jr., of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and his children, Justin (Emily) Boren of Norwich, Vermont, and Celia Boren of Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is also survived by 4 great-grandchildren – Lucy and Henry Millhon and Harper and Margot Prud’homme.
Ken Klug ’65—via Kenyon Alumni Magazine
Kenneth Richard Klug ’65 on Dec. 13, 2015. A resident of Carlsbad, CA, he was 72.
A Cleveland native, Ken majored in chemistry at Kenyon and played varsity baseball, basketball and football, participated in student government with a seat on Campus Senate and joined Delta Tau Delta. He was captain of the baseball team, co-captain of the basketball and football teams and President of the Interfraternity Council and of his fraternity.
In the years following graduation, Ken worked as a coach, holding the post of head basketball coach at Cleveland’s University School. He acquired a Master’s degree in education at the University of Southern California and was lured to Harvard University as assistant to basketball coach Bob Harrison, who had been his coach at Kenyon.
Ken followed his stint at Harvard with several years in Indianapolis, where he worked as a financial and tax consultant and served as an officer of The Way, Inc. (later The Way International), a non-trinitarian biblical research and teaching ministry with which he had previously been affiliated in Ohio. He and his family then moved to Emporia, KS, before settling in California. There, he joined Computer Economics, Inc., in Carlsbad, retiring from that company as controller.
Ken is survived by two sons, Corban Klug and Andrew Klug; two grandchildren and two brothers, Dennis Klug and Robert Klug.
Robert S. Clark ’56—via Legacy.com
Robert Sheffield Clark Robert Sheffield Clark passed peacefully on March 10, 2016 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. Born in Schenectady, NY on April 18, 1934, he was the eldest son of Margaret Daggett Clark and Robert Harold Clark. Bob graduated Solon High School in 1952 and Kenyon College, Cum Laude and with High Honors in English, in 1956. He was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.
Bob proudly served as a Lieutenant in the US Navy from 1956-1961 and served in the JAG Corps. He met Margaret Leitner (deceased) in New York City and they married on September 7, 1963. He received his MA in History from New York University in 1968. Bob began his career in publishing answering letters at Life Magazine. Bob then joined Ziff Davis Publishing where he rose to the position of Executive Editor of Stereo Review Magazine. He later served as Executive Editor of High Fidelity magazine in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and was later the Editor of several trade publications in the field of lasers and photonics until his retirement in 2002.
Throughout his life, he pursued his love of classical music both as a critic for The Hudson Review and other publications, and as a bass in various choral groups. Bob was at home in both the energy of Manhattan and the peace of the Berkshires. He most recently resided at Broomall Presbyterian Village. He is survived by three sons, David (Melissa), Nicholas, Eben (Jean Coulter), and daughter Valentina Gomez (Alexander), and his siblings Dr. Linda J. Clark (Rev. Edwin Pease) and John C. Clark (Judy, deceased). Bob’s ten grandchildren were his greatest joy, together with his love of music, writing, literature, tennis, gardening and travel. His friends and family will remember his wit, intellect and strong desire to support others.
John Beese, Jr. ’58.—via Legacy.com
John Fredrick Beese Jr., 80, passed away unexpectedly on August 23, 2015. He took great pride in the life he lived. He was born and died at the family home, Merestead Farms. John was preceded in death by his parents, John and Fredda Beese and his brothers Bill and Henry. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Lee; and his four sons, John Ivor (Jane) Beese, John F. (Heather) Beese III, Andrew (Melanie) and Matt (Laura) Beese; and his grandchildren, Jonathon, Jacob, Emily, Lucy, Slade, John (Jack) IV, Ella, Evan and Taylor.
John lived his entire life at Merestead Farms with the exception of his time at his beloved Alma Mater, Kenyon College and his time in Iceland as a member of the Air Force. His life was devoted and filled with a passion for farming, family, history and learning. In recent years he worked with the City of Green to help define the history of the area and took great joy in his farm’s 200th anniversary and recognition as a historical landmark. John was also a proud inductee to the Kenyon College Hall of Fame.
Those who knew John well would describe him as a loyal friend, an incredibly hard worker, a proud father and husband. He had a great ability to tell a joke and to pull a prank. His presence at family functions, local parties and at civic events will be sorely missed.