In Memory

Malcolm H Stilson - Class Of 1941

Malcolm H Stilson

Malcolm Stilson was born in Los Angeles on May 26, 1923. He lived in South Pasadena and graduated from South Pasadena-San Marino High School in 1941. He attended the University of Southern California from 1941-1942; then went into the Army Air Corps in December 1942. He was trained as a radio mechanic, but wound up in India in Major Melvin Douglas's Entertainment Production Unit as a pianist for the GI show 'Who Was That Lady?' Peter Gennaro, tap dancer and later a choreographer for Broadway musicals and the Perry Como Show was the Staff Sergeant in charge of the show. The Master of Ceremonies for 'Who Was That Lady?' was Andrew Duggan, actor and later movie and television star.

Malcolm returned from overseas as a Staff Sergeant in 1946. He returned to USC, married Sue Houts in 1947, and graduated with a BA in 1949. Afterwards he attended the new Long Beach State College from 1951-1953 where he earned California elementary and secondary teaching credentials. He was recalled to active duty as a Sergeant First Class during the Korean War but was given a dependency discharge on the birth of their third child. In 1954 the family moved to the state of Washington. Malcolm was to teach the 5th and 6th grades at Glenwood, Washington. He quit teaching in March of 1955 and went to work for 8 1/2 years as a schedule planner with the Boeing Company. Malcolm entered the Master of Librarianship Program at the University of Washington in 1963 and gained the ML in 1964. He was appointed Documents Librarian in the University of Washington Law Library in 1964. In 1966 he was appointed Associate Professor, Documents and Off Campus Librarian, Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 1969 Malcolm and his family returned to Washington and he was appointed Staff Librarian in the new Evergreen State College. As one of the Founding Fathers of Evergreen, Malcolm served in many capacities; Documents, Serials, Chief of User Services and Head of Reference Services. He contributed many original musical comedies to relieve the tensions at Evergreen and finally retired in 1985 to take care of his mother, who died at the age of 98 in 1988. After retirement, he kept busy writing family history and other memoirs, playing the piano daily, and developing a large videotape library. He was a member of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity and Beta Phi Mu. He was granted Staff Emeritus at Evergreen in 1985.

He is survived by daughter Sue Ann West and sons, Malcolm Stilson, Warren Stilson, and Robert Stilson; seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

The Olympian, February 16, 2020