In Memoriam

Notices of deaths received before January 3

To submit listings, please contact alumnae-relations@mills.edu/ mills.alumnaerelations@northeastern.edu or 510.430.2123

Frances Colby Allee ’40, December 2, 2022, in Albany, New York. After Mills, she went on to Johns Hopkins, where she completed a master’s in English literature in 1943 and a PhD in 1948. She spent two years teaching at Ohio State University before settling at what later became the State University of New York at Albany, serving on the faculty there until her retirement in 1980. Frances wrote poetry herself, eventually publishing two books: Seasons, Voices, A Collection of Poetry (1998), and Mark: A Story (2009), and she expressed her love for literature through yearly trips to the Shakespeare Festival in Canada and frequent visits to the theater. She also sewed costumes for UAlbany’s plays. In 1985, she married Jack Allee, a widower and longtime friend with two sons, who became her devoted family, and she enjoyed traveling, cooking, and teaching Sunday school in her later years. She is survived by two stepsons, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

June Holden Schneider ’43, December 29, 2022, in Washington, DC. She cared for people, especially those who were challenged and faced hardships, loved art, and traveling the world. June surprised her family in helping children with autism communicate through art. She wanted to leave this world quietly, but contributed her body to science, if it could benefit those who remained in the world. She is survived by a son.

Eleanor Perry Merrick ’45, December 26, 2022, in Medford, New Jersey. She was predeceased by her husband, Samuel.

Dorothy “Dottie” Baier Shindler ’47, September 22, 2022, in Anacortes, Washington. She majored in music as therapy at Mills, even sharing a practice room with Dave Brubeck, MFA ’46. Dottie married her high-school sweetheart after graduation, and her growing family lived in various places around the Pacific Northwest. She was a devoted pursuer of social justice, pursuing solutions for homelessness and supporting refugees through religious groups, and she transferred her musical skills to play the organ at her local parish. She is survived by nine children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Joan Shull Phillips ’49, November 13, 2022, in Boulder, Colorado. She met her late husband at Mills while he was a student at Stanford. Joan taught while he worked on his graduate degree at Princeton, then the two moved to Venezuela for a short time before returning to her hometown of Sioux City, Iowa. There, she was a member of Portfolio Book Study Club, Sioux City Junior League, and First Presbyterian Church of Spirit Lake. In 2013, the couple moved to Boulder to be close to family. She is survived by three sons, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Ann McKinstry Micou ’52 , December 30, 2022, in West Caldwell, New Jersey. She spent a good portion of her life abroad, editing publications in Turkey and Iran, and traveling frequently to South Africa and nearby countries for her work with anti-apartheid causes. Ann later earned a master’s in nonprofit management from the New School in New York in 1982, and she completed her doctorate in American literature at Drew University at the age of 84. She also shared her talents at Northern State Prison, tutoring those studying for their high-school diplomas. She is survived by two sisters, Evelyn “Muffy” McKinstry Thorne ’48 and Sarah “Sally” McKinstry Hall ’50; two children; five grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and, among other nieces and nephews, Virginia Hall Yanoff ’66.

ANITA ARAGON KREPLIN ’63

There may not be any other Mills alumna who has ever been so connected to the College post-graduation as Anita Aragon Kreplin ’63. She used her Spanish degree (and a master’s from Case Western) to teach the language at Mills from 1970 to 1974. Her first husband, the late Darl Bowers, was a biology professor at Mills for 38 years, and she was introduced to her second husband (and survivor) Karl Kreplin through a classmate her sophomore year. Her stepdaughter, Jeannette Bowers Bose ’84, is an alum as well—and Anita’s experience as a Mills stepparent was one she spoke of often. And she served on the AAMC’s board of governors for three terms, including as president during a particularly fraught era, and she was once executive director of the AAMC.

“I remember how Anita would break into a song when we, as AAMC leaders, were facing difficult decisions. With her song and smile, she would break the tension and move us ahead,” said Susan Brown Penrod ’71. “She was friendly, calm, practical, and forward-looking— she optimized the magical madness of Mills.”

The news of her passing on December 26, 2022, was a thorough shock to the Mills community, almost certainly due to how omnipresent Anita was at alum events over the years. Reactions on social media were not at all restricted by graduation year.

Classmate Susan Miles Gulbransen ’63 noted, however, that Anita was particularly dedicated to her graduating class. She adds that she’s grateful the members of the Class of 1963 were able to resume their semi-annual on-campus lunches last fall after a long COVID pause. “Anita, always active and knowledgeable, and an important continued on next page

Mills support, led us up to date: ‘We’ll have to talk faster and more since we’ve missed lunches the past three years!’ Gulbransen said. “She has added so much to our lives with her rich, positive thoughts and fun ideas.”

Former AAMC President Lucy Do ’75 first met Anita as a student when Anita was teaching Spanish at Mills. Anita later recruited Do to replace her as leader of the AAMC. “She was a wealth of knowledge not only of the AAMC but of the greater community, and the history of all subjects concerning Mills College,” Do said. “She will be greatly missed as a beacon and role model for all Mills women.”

Anita retired from Oakland High School as vice principal in 2004—after departing her position at Mills, she also taught Spanish at San Francisco University High School. Her volunteerism also extended beyond Mills, where she won the AAMC’s Outstanding Volunteer Award in 2014, including the development of a church group to discuss literature and social issues. And she was a dedicated practitioner of meditation; Do said that it was the reason behind Anita’s trademark mindfulness and calm.

In addition to scores of grateful former students and many Mills admirers, Anita is survived by Karl and three stepchildren.

Jocelyn “Joci” Levi Straus ’53, October 8, 2022, in San Antonio. She was a celebrated philanthropist and volunteer in San Antonio, helping to restore several historic theaters and founding the Women’s Leadership Council of United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County. Joci also created the Las Casas Foundation, which grants scholarship funds to high school students who participate in local theater every year at the Joci Awards. She also volunteered for political campaigns, and she had the honor of once meeting Rosa Parks. She is survived by her husband, three children, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Pauline “Polly” Quam Fisher ’54, December 17, 2022, in Santa Rosa. After Mills, she returned to her home state of North Dakota to marry her teenage sweetheart and start raising her family. Post-divorce, she came back to the Bay Area looking for a new challenge, and she found it in the role of general manager of the Santa Rosa Symphony, where she worked for 19 years. The symphony dedicated a series of concerts this past winter to her memory. Polly also loved traveling, studying the classics, and film. She is survived by two siblings, three sons, and four grandchildren.