James T. Rowe G’63 died on June 30, 2024, in Marshall, Minnesota.

(The following was provided by the Marshall Independent on July 3, 2024:)

James T. Rowe G’63

MARSHALL — There were many sides to Ted Rowe. He was a teacher, writer, public official, and a lot more, friends and colleagues said.

“He lived life to the fullest,” said Jean Replinger, a friend and former co-worker with Rowe at Southwest Minnesota State University.

James “Ted” Rowe died Sunday at the Bethesda Grand nursing facility in Willmar. He was 86.

Rowe grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and also went on to graduate from Denison University in Granville, Ohio. After he earned his master’s degree from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, Rowe’s path led to Minnesota.

In 1969, Rowe was recruited to what is now Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. He had a thirty-three-year career there teaching math, and also served in positions including the Math and Computer Science Department chair, assistant vice president for Academic Affairs, and interim vice president for Academic Affairs.

Replinger, a retired SMSU health and PE professor, said she and Rowe first bonded over shared connections to Ohio.

“Both he and I came to SMSU from Ohio colleges,” she said.

Replinger would meet with Rowe and his wife, Aileen, for dinner once a week.

“He was a very generous man with his time,” Replinger said.

As a teacher, Rowe was also very student-centered, she said.

Jeff Kolnick, professor of history at SMSU, said he first knew Rowe as the president of the university’s faculty association in the early 1990s.

“To me, he was a larger-than-life figure,” Kolnick said. “I admired his knowledge of the university, and his ability to run a meeting effectively and fairly.” Leading the faculty association was not a small job, Kolnick said.

Kolnick and Replinger said Rowe had a lot of interests. He loved music, and Replinger said Rowe also liked to collect items like coins and jelly jars. He would use the jars to make homemade jams he gave as Christmas presents, Replinger said.

Many people in the Marshall area also got to know Rowe through his writing in the local newspaper. For many years, he wrote a weekly column for bridge players called “Holding Hands with Ted Rowe.”

In 2003, he began writing “Oh, Fiddlesticks!” for the Marshall Independent. In this column, Rowe wrote about all kinds of topics and reflections from his life. He closed each column with the phrase, “Oh, fiddlesticks!”

“People loved ‘Oh, Fiddlesticks!’” said Per Peterson, a former editor of the Independent. “Ted was the kind of writer that you just felt at home reading … I think that’s what drew people to it.”

Rowe would often come in to the Independent office to say hello.

“He was very personable, approachable and kind,” Peterson said. “He was a pretty darn good writer, too.”

In addition to the roles he served at SMSU, Rowe also served on the Marshall Chamber of Commerce, the Municipal Utilities Commission, and the Marshall City Council.

“He was a dedicated (council) member. I don’t think he ever missed a meeting,” said Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes. “Ted was an avid reader, so he would come to council meetings very well-prepared.”

Byrnes said Rowe was the kind of person who wasn’t afraid to state his opinion on council matters, but he would always say it in a polite, professional way.

Rowe was active in the Marshall Sunrise Rotary ever since its founding in 2003, said Gary St. Aubin.

“Ted was a charter member of that club,” he said. “He was a good leader and example for us.” St. Aubin said Rowe was active in financially supporting Rotary projects, and always knew the news from the district and international levels of Rotary. Rowe was also involved with mission trips to Central America.

“I think he gave a great example of service above self,” St. Aubin said.

“He was a person who devoted himself completely to the university and the community,” Kolnick said.