In Memoriam

Joseph F. Phelan '61 People wanted to be a part of his joy By Karen Tongue Hammond '64

He was such fun," says Lois Stickney Magenau '61, reminiscing about classmate Joe Phelan '61, who died of cancer in May at age 71. "He was deep and so intelligent but somehow managed to keep it light." During their senior year, Joe was president of the Student Senate. "Things ran very smoothly with Joe at the helm," says Magenau. "He was always calmly in control—no anxious pushing—just a wonderful president, getting the job done without having to stand out himself."

The ability to identify and work toward his goals, coupled with an infectious sense of humor, endeared Phelan to his friends and colleagues and remained strengths throughout his life. During visits with Magenau and her husband, Roger '61, "Joe would put on this wonderful Irish brogue in telling us his best jokes. I always admired how he found such enjoyment in his life. You just wanted to follow him around and be part of that joy."

Phelan earned a master's degree at Morehead State University in 1966, taught school for five years, and then spent 20 years with Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of America (now Scholarship America), including 18 years as the organization's president and chief executive officer.

He also served in the early '90s as UNH's vice president for alumni affairs and development, and was the founding president of the UNH Foundation. Several months before his death, Phelan and his family established the Phelan Family Fund to provide an ongoing source of support for the Thompson School of Applied Science.

His daughter, Colleen Phelan Bolton '87, graduated from UNH while Joe was employed there and remembers standing proudly beside him at graduation, both dressed in their commencement robes. It was an emotional father-daughter moment that Phelan lightened with his characteristic humor. "He told me how proud he was of me and that this was one of the happiest days of his life," she says. "Then he patted me on the back and said, 'Your branch of my bank is now closed.'"

An English major at UNH, Phelan wrote three books about the nonprofit industry. He cared deeply about the English language and effective writing, recalls UNH colleague Emily Smith '78G. He was adamant, she says, about never writing a sentence beginning with "There is..." or "There are..." He considered such writing "flabby," says Smith, who remembers Phelan tossing off poems and doggerel to amuse the office staff. In 2003, he and Peter Parady '63 put on a concert at Lois Magenau's home for a few neighbors. The evening of guitar playing, singing and snappy repartee became an annual fall event, growing so popular it had to be moved to a larger venue. Despite his illness, Phelan and Parady gave a final performance last October.

At his memorial service, says Magenau, she learned about many Phelan accomplishments that she and her late husband had never been aware of, despite their decades-long friendship. That was typical, she says, of the man who neither talked about nor rested on his laurels. He was, she says, "always moving forward."

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