Tom Vernon Ritchie

Tom Vernon Ritchie, professor emeritus of music at Truman State University, died Feb. 20, 2013, in Bloomington, Ind. He was 90 years old.

He spent the final years doing what he enjoyed most—writing music and attending opera and other musical performances at the IU Jacobs School of Music. Ritchie was a professor of music theory and composition for more than 40 years. He also was a professional concert pipe organist and held associate certification from the American Guild of Organists. Prior to joining the faculty at Truman, he was chairman of the Music Department at Drury College and taught at Wichita State. For nearly three decades, students from south-central Iowa and north-central Missouri who wanted to teach music enrolled in his classes.

In 2008, more than 60 faculty members, former students and friends paid tribute to him during an alumni reunion at Truman where they performed more than a dozen of his works.
In addition to his classroom duties, Ritchie composed the music and wrote the libretto for the opera, “The Children of Hamelin,” based on the Robert Browning poem, “The Pied Piper of Hamelin.” The opera premiered at Truman in 1981. He also composed numerous works for voice, chorus, piano, woodwinds and brass.

Ritchie was a World War II veteran. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1942. After training in amphibious assault at Fort Pierce, Fla., he commanded several landing craft during the invasion of Iwo Jima in 1944, landing Marines of the Fourth Division on the first morning of the battle. He was also present at the landings on Okinawa. Ritchie was deployed to the invasion fleet for Japan before the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

His children have established the Tom V. Ritchie Memorial Scholarship Fund at Truman State University.

The late Cal Roebuck

The President’s Leadership Award, one of the most prestigious awards presented by Truman State University, honors select Truman alumni and friends for meritorious service through their gifts of volunteerism, expertise and financial resources. Earlier this year, Calvin E. Roebuck, who died in 2011, was honored posthumously with the 2013 President’s Leadership Award.

After graduating from Truman in 1957 with a bachelor of science degree in business administration, Cal began his career with Prudential. In 1961, he was employed by State Farm Insurance as an agent in Kirksville. In 1964, he was promoted to agency manager in St. Louis and seven years later was promoted to agency director in the Ohio State Farm Regional Office. Following a brief stint as an executive assistant in Bloomington, Ill., Cal was promoted to deputy regional vice president in the Missouri-Kansas Regional Office in Columbia, Mo. In 1985 he was promoted to vice president of the Ohio Region. Cal retired from State Farm Insurance in 2000, after almost 40 years of service.

In 2003 Cal was honored as Truman’s Alumnus of the Year, and he provided wisdom and guidance to the University while serving as a two-term member of the Truman State University Foundation Board of Directors. He also demonstrated support for his alma mater by serving on committees for the University’s Magruder Hall Campaign and the “Bright Minds Bright Futures” Campaign.

Along with his wife, Lydia, Cal provided generous financial support to Truman. In 2008 the Roebucks established the Calvin E. Roebuck Business Scholarship to commemorate Cal’s distinguished career at State Farm Insurance and to provide opportunity for deserving students to receive a Truman education. The Roebucks created the scholarship fund with an outright commitment of $50,000. The fund, which was fortified with matching gifts from State Farm Insurance, has grown to more than $120,000 through proceeds of a life insurance policy and memorial gifts.

Members of the Roebuck family accepted the President’s Leadership Award which was presented posthumously to Cal Roebuck (’57) at the Truman State University Foundation Banquet held on campus in April 2013. Shown L-R: Jaynee Roebuck (Cal’s daughter-in-law), Jim Roebuck (Cal’s son), Lydia Roebuck (Cal’s wife) and University President Troy Paino.