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Craig A. Staudenbaur |
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Craig A. Staudenbaur died Friday, June 24, 2005, at the Odyssey Harbor House hospice. He was 72.
Craig was born in Mountain Lake, Minnesota to William and Wilhelmina Staudenbaur.
His
education and career:
Jeffers Public School
Minnesota State Teachers College
University of South Dakota - Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy; Summa Cum Laude,
Dr. Frederick Angier Spafford Memorial Prize for study of Latin, Phi Beta Kappa
Honor Society, Eta Sigma Phi Classical Language Honorary
Brandeis University - Masters in the History of Ideas
Johns Hopkins University - Arthur Oncken Lovejoy Fellowship; PhD in Philosophy
Reed College, Portland - Instructor in Philosophy and Humanities
Michigan State University
Dept. of Philosophy:
Assistant Professor 1962-65
Associate Professor 1965-72
Professor 1972-92
Chairperson 1977-82
Craig married Marjorie Ann Berridge in 1957 and they had three children: Karl, Lorelei and Heidi.
Craig's hobbies included photography, motorcycling, mushroom hunting, renovating the family's summer cabin, furniture refinishing, taxidermy, ping pong, wine and beer making, and repairing everything in sight. He played cornet, baritone and recorder. He bred the family's St. Bernard dog, and raised and trained the puppies.
 
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In 1977, Craig began to develop inexplicable symptoms including arm pain and hand tremor. It took five years of visiting specialists before he was finally diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Over the years Craig volunteered for many studies and experiments on his condition, including fetal tissue brain implants and stomach injections. The disease eventually required an early retirement.
Craig's second marriage was to Lucille Walls; together they spent several years foster parenting, providing a home environment for several dozen children and teens.
In his later years, Craig toured areas of the United States in a motor home with his son Karl. They eventually settled on the west coast, living near Craig's daughters. He developed an interest in publishing, and supported the development and publication of Black Sheep Talking by debuting author Delphia Rowe-Pearson; the book was well-received. Craig completed writing his own science fiction novel Cosmos Lycanthropos: Planet of the Man-Wolf on June 5, 2005.
On June 11 he had a breathing crisis and was admitted to the hospital.
The next day, his prognosis terminal, he was detached from hospital machinery
and transferred to Hospice. He died in his sleep on Friday, June 24.
Craig is survived by his son Karl; two daughters, Lorelei and Heidi; and brother William Staudenbaur. Another brother, Charles Staudenbaur, died previously.
Arrangements were made by Sunrise Funeral Home. His brain and some organs were donated to Life Legacy for research purposes, and his remains were cremated. The memorial service was Saturday, July 16.
Contributions in Craig's memory can be made to:
Children International, www.children.org, 1-800-888-3089
The Parkinsons Institute, www.parkinsonsinstitute.org, 1-800-655-2273
Poems by Craig as a young man: On the Death of a Friend - On My Leisure
Send memories, comments, or contact family - click here
Links:
Dr. Craig Staudenbaur's academic career - click here
Black Sheep Talking by Delphia Pearson-Rowe
Child
Nurturance: Philosophy, Children, and the Family
Albert Cafagna, Richard Peterson, Craig Staudenbaur, Editors
Johns Hopkins Records - Dept of Philosophy
English Literature and Religion - Bibliography
"Galileo, Ficino, and Henry More's Psychathanasia"
Article by C. A. Staudenbaur
Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. XXIX, No. 4
October-December 1968
No link available
"Platonism, Theosophy, and Immaterialism:
Recent Views of the Cambridge Platonists"
Article by C. A. Staudenbaur
Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. XXXV, No. 1
January-March 1974
No link available
Staudenbaur, Craig A. Modern Schoolman (May 1981),
a review of Nicholas P. White's A Companion to Plato's Republic (1979)
No link available
Letters & Memories
How sad I was to hear about Craig. Although I haven't seen him for years, it feels like a piece of my life has been lost. You were all such a fundamental and inextricable part of my childhood it seems unreal to know that Craig is gone. I'm so glad that my parents were able to speak with him, and I know my mother was very pleased that he responded to her words and voice.
Your webpage for Craig really moved me. The photos captured him exactly as I remember him. Even though he struggled with Parkinson's for so many years, he seemed fundamentally unchanged. The resoluteness, stoicism, and wry sense of humor that I remember in Craig all came through in every photo. As I look at those pictures they bring to mind his unique, quiet, though determined gait as he moved from one fix-it project to another. Perhaps because Craig "did" more than talked, and communicated as much with expressions as words, photographs capture him so completely.
Sonia
Sonia's words ring true for me, too, as the "Staudy" family was an integral part of my childhood on Lilac Avenue. My earliest childhood memories include Staudenbaurs, whose home was part of the larger world we inhabited as kids. Throughout that time, Craig remained this remarkably quiet but competent shadow in the background teaching Karl how to ride a unicycle, fixing a bike, building something in the garage while whistling some tune, and caring for the kids. One of my fondest memories of Craig was at Lake Arrowhead on one of our many summer visits. We were out canoeing on the lake, and Craig had brought along his shotgun to shoot turtles for our next meal. But at the moment he sighted the turtles, I cringed (and cried? perhaps). On seeing my reaction to his plan, Craig quietly put away the shotgun and let the turtles go. It was that kind of compassion that I remember most in Craig. Thank you for keeping his spirit alive.
Affectionately,
Miriam
I first met Craig and Margie in 1958, shortly after Craig's brother, Charles and I were married. Chuck often told me about the trip that he and Craig had taken in 1956 or 1957. They went to California, Oregon, Washington and the states in between. When they camped in Yosemite, Craig was awakened by a bear.
Our families would meet every few years--sometimes in Jeffers, Minnesota and another time at the cabin in Gaylord. Our children enjoyed each other's company and those were good family times. I especially remember the time we were all together in Jeffers for Craig and Charles' parent's 50th wedding celebration. We had fun working on a little program for the celebration.
When Charles became ill in 1985, Craig came to visit and helped me through a difficult time. I was always in awe of his wisdom and talents and admired him greatly. He will be greatly missed.
--Roma
A few years ago I was writing about ethics, and this is part of what I said: "Craig Staudenbaur once showed me an announcement by Merton College, Oxford, offering a fellowship to a humanist. He was applying and suggested that I do so too. That was generosity beyond the golden rule. For since there was only one fellowship, he was lowering his own chance by bringing a rival into the competition. I do not recall having done the like myself."
-- William Whallon
I remember that Craig was very strong-minded. Nothing could keep him from the task he set out to do. I
thought it was amazing that this guy who could barely walk would make himself breakfast (waffles, not just
a
bowl of cereal!) and then make his way, slowly and steadily, to the library at UCLA, MANY miles away.
Whenever I feel like I can't get something done or that I'm too tired to do something, I think of Craig. He
never let his ill health stop him from doing what he wanted. He also had a great sense of humor and was
always very sweet to me.
Emily
Dear Lorelei,
While your dad's death inevitably makes me sad, I'm glad that his suffering is over. Through many years he and I were very close, having the multiple bonds of being neighbors, colleagues, and fellow historians of philosophy.
Craig was the first person in the MSU Philosophy Dept. I got to know. We'd just arrived in East Lansing for the first time in the fall of 1965, and I think we'd only been there about two days, when your dad invited us over for dessert. I still remember that it was baked Alaska, something I'd not have before and have rarely had since. At some point your dad carried you out--were you perhaps two years old then?--and I still remember our surprise at what a deep voice you had when you spoke: such a little girl with such a big voice! The Suters were also invited and that was when we first met them, too. That was the beginning of years in which your father and I were very close. He was such a good scholar and, at the same time, such a master of all things practical (the all-round plumber, electrician, carpenter, etc.). And I learned a lot from him, both about philosophy and about how to do some practical things (which I was never much good at). And, of course, over the years we had much to talk about regarding the history of philosophy, and there too I learned much from him, especially about Plato and about Henry More and the Cambridge Platonists, about which he was a great expert.
Spending over twenty years living almost next door to
your dad was one of the great pleasures of my life. On the day he was
diagnosed with Parkinson's, he came over and, in the matter-of-fact way
typical of him, he told me of the diagnosis. Typical of him because
there was no self-pity, just calm acceptance of the situation.
Sad as the thought of his death is, it is surely far preferable to prolonged suffering. He has suffered enough.
We all looked at the Staudenbaur pictures and they made us feel nostalgic. I especially like the picture of your dad, in his wheel chair, putting together some contraption. That is a wonderful and typical image of him.
--Charles
Lorelei,
Sonia and I cried when we saw each other yesterday. I'm saddened that he is no more, but glad his suffering is over. We have so many fond memories of Craig, his readiness to help, his dry sense of humor, his cleverness. Of all those memories there is one that stands out more than anything else. That's when I first met him at your house. I went to visit your mother, and soon after Craig arrived. The first thing he did was to pick you up -- you must have been a few months old and I was very pregnant -- he then went about doing things around the house with you glued to his left hip. This habit continued until you walked. It was so cute to see you, a little blond elfin, being carted around, always with a big smile on your face.
I am sorry that I did not think to say these things when I talked to him.
If his science fiction novel gets published, I would like to read it. Please let me know when this happens.
Love,
Carmen
I was sad to read of the passing of your father. I always enjoyed seeing him around, if only for a few moments. He was always respectful and when he had something to say, (always in brief) it was usually kinda funny.
My condolences and well wishes,
Evanna
On a recent visit to the Suters, Ronald asked me if I had taken
philosophy courses as an undergraduate (or something to that effect). I
told him I had taken only the introductory one required by my
program--that I was too immersed at that time in psychology and in my
own mind to enjoy philosophy. Twenty years later was a different story.
In the interval, I had read a little Plato on my own--and when Craig
invited me to sit in on an evening Plato seminar he was giving in his
living room, it turned out to be the intellectual highlight of my 30+
years at MSU.
I gratefully remember as well the little car that Craig helped make for our son Ben to enter into the Cub Scout Soap Box Derby.
Love,
Stan
By the time I'd met Craig, Parkinsons had already taken a major toll on his body. The first year, he still had some limited mobility outside of his wheelchair. The year after, he didn't even have that. The thing that impressed me was the strength of will that Craig maintained even when the disease had robbed him of most of his abilities to function on his own. I never saw him complain or possess any self-pity for what had happened to him. He wanted to be accepted for the man he was, not for what the disease made of him.
--Richard Reynolds
From an email newsletter sent by the Los
Angeles Mycological Society:
It is my sad duty to report the passing of LAMS member Craig
Staudenbaur. Craig had been a member of LAMS for approximately 10
years. He was a regular attendee at LAMS meetings until the progression
of Parkinson's disease in the last few years made his visits less
frequent.
I knew Craig for the last 10 years. When I was editor of the LAMS Spore
Print,
Craig was one of only two members to volunteer his help with publishing
the newsletter. Although highly educated and very accomplished, Craig
was always humble and unassuming. He had a wry sense of humor and did
not permit Parkinson's disease to quell his spirit. Craig will be
dearly missed by his many friends. I extend my condolences on behalf of
the LAMS Council to Craig's family and friends.
--Steven Pencall
Hi Lorelei,
Katherine and I have just been thinking of your dad, who died a year ago today, if my memory is right. We often think of him and all the good years we spent together in Morrill Hall and on Lilac Ave.
I seem to have come to an age when old friends are disappearing. Just the day before yesterday, Hubert Schwyzer, our closest friend in Santa Barbara, died after a long struggle with cancer; and in the course of the last year, three other old friends, in addition to your dad and Hubert, have died, including Bill Whallon, who was also a good friend of your dad's.
Fondly,
Charles
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Craig A Staudenbaur
Staudenbaur, Craig A
C A Staudenbaur
