William Couch

Thank you for your article in the September issue about the life and death of Prof. William Couch [English 1953-55]. Dr. Couch was my Humanities 11 conference leader during my freshman year. When I think about what a Reed education means to me, Dr. Couch comes immediately to mind. Four weekly conferences and one paper all year long, each paper followed by an individual conference in which the paper was mercilessly dissected and reassembled. Whatever success I may have achieved in using the English language, I owe to Dr. Couch. I don’t recall being aware that he was a professional musician and WWII combat officer, but given the respect that he commanded among me and my classmates, I am not surprised.

 

Chris Mathews ’58

Corvallis, Oregon