Skeves, who died March 27, served below 4 Dartmouth presidents and worked for many neighborhood organizations in Hanover.
by Varun Swaminathan | ten minutes ago
Supply: Courtesy of David Skeves
All through his life, John Greenslade Skeves ’51 TU ’56 had a “peaceful” attitude that deeply impacted everybody about him, according to his son, David Skeves.
“He was 1 of the kindest folks I’ve ever identified,” mentioned his son, David Skeves. “Every person who knew him loved him.”
Skeves, who died March 27, was director of company affairs for the college and led and founded numerous organizations in Hanover. Skeves is survived by his two sons, two daughters, 5 grandchildren and 3 excellent-grandchildren, according to his on the net obituary. He was 93 years old.
Skeves was quite involved in the life of the city, says David Skeves. He founded the Hanover Youth Hockey Association, was the president of the Hanover Promotion Society, was a member of each the Hanover and Dresden college boards and the Hanover Board of Directors. Skeves also chaired the Hanover Board of Supervisors, managed the Hanover Water Operates Firm and was involved in the Rotary Club of Hanover. In 1993, Skeves was named Hanover’s Citizen of the Year.
Born in Clermont, New Hampshire, in 1929, Skuse moved to Concord, Massachusetts, for his senior year of higher college ahead of graduating in 1946.
A born-and-bred Granite Stater who grew up attending Dartmouth football games and track and field games, Skeves under no circumstances doubted exactly where he wanted to attend college, he mentioned in a 2003 interview.
“I’ve been a Dartmouth fan due to the fact I was a kid,” Skeves mentioned. “I just under no circumstances believed about something else.”
Dartmouth was the only college he applied to, and he was “semi-recruited” to play football by operating backs coach Milton Piepool, according to Skeves’ interview. Whilst in college, Skeves majored in history and began Dartmouth’s initial rugby group.
“[John Skewes and other students] he began the rugby plan simply because there was a tournament in Bermuda,” mentioned David Skeves. “They believed it would be a excellent excuse to go to Bermuda for spring break, which was 1 of his fondest memories.”
Immediately after graduating from Dartmouth in 1951, Skeves enlisted in the Army “with 3 other pals” from college, serving as an officer for the duration of the Korean War. Whilst on leave from Officer Candidate College, Skeves met his wife, Constance, in Concord. David Skeves recalled his father’s story about meeting his mother at the division shop exactly where she worked at the time.
“He walked up to her and mentioned ‘Do you want to go to a hockey game?’ to which she replied ‘with who?’ and he mentioned ‘with me,’ and that was their introduction,” mentioned David Skeves.
Hockey was an vital element of Skeves’ life, says David Skeves. He was his son’s hockey coach and took their group to Lou’s Restaurant & Bakery — then owned by his buddy and founder Lou Bressett — following every practice.
“I’d nonetheless be in my hockey gear, sitting at the counter with my dad, having 1 of Lou’s cookies and a cup of hot chocolate,” David Skeves mentioned. “I’d say that is 1 of my preferred memories.”
John Hochreiter, who served as president of the Hanover Improvement Society following Skeves, and as a member of the Hanover Rotary Club, remembered Skeves as “confident, dynamic and 1 of the smartest folks I’ve ever met.”
According to Hochreiter, Skeves had a “beneficial” connection to the Hanover neighborhood, adding that Skeves “made the subsequent two presidents” of the Hanover Advancement Society by “placing his arm about me and saying ‘wouldn’t you like to do this?’ ”
Skeves helped the Rotary Club establish a much better connection with the College, Hochreiter mentioned. As a member of the college’s administration, he led conversations that gave Rotary “a connection among town and gown,” according to Hochreiter.
“[Skewes] constantly believed in rotary traditions of service above themselves,” mentioned Hochreiter.
Skeves under no circumstances forgot the lifelong pals he created when at Dartmouth. He could nonetheless try to remember the names of his classmates eighty years following graduation, operating into and sitting with old pals at Dartmouth football games, David Skeves mentioned.
“It is a fairly neat legacy,” he mentioned.
Just about every time Skeves left Hanover, he discovered his way back. Immediately after graduating from Tuck Organization College in 1956, he and Connie moved temporarily to Connecticut. Sooner or later, the couple discovered they could not justify living in Connecticut when they wanted to invest their time in New Hampshire, says David Skeves.
When asked what kept Skeves in Hanover, David Skeves replied, “Dartmouth.
“He just loved college,” David Skeves mentioned. “He went to operate on foot.” He was so familiar with the spot and loved becoming a element of that neighborhood.