Obituary
William Alfred Scoones (b. 6.10.34) passed away after a short illness on July 8, 2024, at his home in Nokomis, Florida, with his two children Jacqueline E. Scoones (Omaha, NE) and Jonathan E. Scoones (Wakefield, RI) at his side. Bill is also survived by his second wife Helen Aldridge (m. 1986), recently relocated to Brookdale in Ithaca, NY; daughter-in-law Jennifer Pereira Scoones and grandson Desmond Scoones (Wakefield, RI); Helen’s children John Aldridge and Elizabeth Aldridge and her grandchildren Melissa LoPinto and Luke LoPinto (all Ithaca, NY); as well as extensive Scoones nieces, nephews, cousins and their families. Bill was previously married to Nancy Walton Smith, mother of Jacqueline and Jonathan (m. 1957 – div.1981), who predeceased him in 2004. The youngest of six, Bill was also predeceased by brothers Floyd E., Arthur R., and Edgar G. Scoones; sisters Jeanne S. Zebley and Doris S. Witzell; and parents Arthur W. Scoones and Sara Lenahan Scoones.
Bill celebrated his 90th birthday on June 10 at a surprise Zoom birthday party with over 30 former Ithaca College colleagues, friends, and his children, and by watching the second 2024 Stanley Cup playoff game. A superb amateur hockey player (left wing), outstanding coach, and expert fan, Bill’s tremendous power, grace, and skill on the ice was accompanied by his commitment to building and sustaining ice rinks and hockey programs. Bill grew up in Clinton, NY, becoming an outstanding HS leader as athlete (baseball, football, hockey) and Junior/Senior Class President (1952). He received hockey scholarships at Northwood School (1952-53) and Hamilton College (Class of 1957), graduating with a BA in History and Political Science. After being drafted into the Army and serving in El Paso and White Sands 1957-59, Bill became a HS History teacher in Oriskany, NY, and then Cazenovia, NY, where he coached the HS hockey team and galvanized the town to build a skating rink, which Bill did with friends and his own hands.
Bill moved to Ithaca, NY, in 1963 and taught for three years at Ithaca High School; then completed an MA (1968) and Ph.D. (1972) at Cornell University in Education Administration while coaching the “Big Red” Freshman hockey team for several seasons. Bill also coached for years in the Ithaca Youth Hockey Association and served as its President, was involved in planning for the Cass Park rink, and played Sunday night hockey games with friends at Cornell’s Lynah Rink into his sixth decade.
Bill was devoted to education and community service. In 1972 he joined the Department of Education faculty at Ithaca College and then held a variety of administrative leadership positions there, including Assistant and Interim Provost; Dean of Allied Health Sciences and Human Performance; Acting Dean of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education; Interim Dean of the Business School; Director of Institutional Research and Planning; and Founding Director of the Center for Teacher Education. In 1988 Bill completed the Harvard Institute for Educational Management program and was renowned at IC for initiating new ideas and programs, tackling institutional challenges and facilitating collaboration.
Bill recently said that he would also have liked to have been Dean of the IC Music School. Dark winter mornings in the family home often began with rousing music and the house typically resounded with jazz, classical, pop and rock, such as favorites from The Beatles, The Band, and a wide range of 1950’s – 60’s jazz artists. Bill particularly liked attending live music performances and dancing, and enjoyed entertaining his young children with whimsical improvised rhyming songs conveying what he later termed “disguised moral lessons.”
Among his many volunteer activities and Board memberships, Bill chaired the year-long 1992 Ithaca College Centennial Celebration, conceiving a creative and inclusive events series. He served on the Wells College Board of Trustees, the Boards of Tompkins County Library, Challenge Industries, Ithacare, and the Hangar Theater, and was member of over a dozen professional associations, including the NY Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. While on the Ithaca School Board, Bill helped to establish alternative public education programs, including the innovative East Hill Elementary School. His deep fondness for the Ithaca Children’s Garden and his support of its development reflected Bill’s hope that local children would have access to play and exploration in the beauty of nature, as he did when a child.
Bill also loved wordplay and will be remembered for his marvelous quick wit, devastating puns, and sharp, articulate insight. His good humor and approachable style were famous; a colleague remarked that walking across campus with Bill was “like trying to get through a bramble bush” since so many stopped to talk with him, and Bill paused to chat with each. Bill enjoyed traveling with friends and family, particularly regular trips to the Chesapeake Bay and shore areas; Stratford Theater Festival in Ontario; Provence, France; and pilgrimages with buddies to major-league baseball games.
Although Bill prefers being remembered for his community service and leadership at Ithaca College, especially endearing for his children is Bill’s mighty and sustained pursuit and enjoyment of good ice cream, which he shared with them and others — as well as sneaking off to consume on his own, sometimes several times each week – for over 60 years. Like his good works, Bill’s happy presence at ice cream stands throughout the Finger Lakes District and Nokomis Beaches will no doubt linger long after he has skated on.
A Celebration of Life (date TBA) is planned for Fall 2024. In lieu of flowers the family suggests considering Bill’s favorite causes: Scholarships at Northwood School and Hamilton College; the Ithaca Children’s Garden; an institution or non-profit organization supporting education opportunities for people of any age.
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