Ronald R. Maxwell, 76, of State College, died from cancer Sunday, March 6, 2011, while in hospice care at his home. His wife, Mary, survives at home. Ron is also survived by a daughter, Martha Emery, and her husband Michael and son Freddy, of Lancaster; a son, Edward, and his wife Julie and their daughters Katherine and Lily, of State College; and a brother, George, of Baraboo, WI. He was preceded in death by a brother, Robert, and parents Neil and Grace Maxwell.
Born April 4, 1934, in Stevens Point, WI, he spent his first five years in Nelsonville, WI, before his family moved to Wisconsin Rapids where he was educated through high school. He received his baccalaureate from Lawrence College in Appleton, WI, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. A specialist in modern British literature, he came to Penn State with Mary in 1963 where he taught literature and written composition as an Instructor. He took a leave 1965-1967 as part of a Rockefeller grant to teach for two years at Fisk University in Nashville, TN, where he was the Acting Head of the English Department during the second year. He completed his dissertation in the summer while at Fisk and resumed his work at Penn State as an Assistant Professor of English, receiving tenure a few years later. In 1978, he took another leave to be the Acting Assistant Dean of William James College within the Grand Valley State Colleges in MI.
Ron and Mary exemplified William James’ philosophy of integrating vocation and avocation. Ron was the rare English professor who could explicate literature, teach critical thinking, and train peer tutors of writing and also tend a farm, build a table, and shoot a grouse.
He retired from Penn State in 1999 after 36 years of service. At Penn State, he established the University-wide peer-tutoring program in writing after developing a course for training peer tutors. He organized three University-sponsored national conferences on collaborative learning and served as Co-Director of the Schreyer Institute for Innovation in Learning 1995-1997.
He was a founding member of the National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing, which formally recognized his leadership with an award in 1997. Wishing for others to receive similar honor for such work that often went unrecognized, Ron and Mary sponsored the award annually. The organization named it the Ron Maxwell Award for Distinguished Leadership in Promoting the Collaborative Learning Practices of Peer Tutors in Writing. The 2010 award recipient, Dr. Brian Fallon, Director of the Writing Studio, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, said in a thank you letter to Ron and Mary, “I have always thought of the Maxwell Award as one of the greatest honors a writing center director can receive.” He spoke for many when he went on to tell Ron, “My understanding of teaching and learning, my understanding of how students relate to one another, and my understanding of how teachers relate to students have been dramatically influenced by NCPTW people like you who have paved the way for people like me, and for that I will always be appreciative.”
Ron’s contributions to the local community included long-time volunteer work as a tutor and board member with the Mid-State Literacy Council. He was noticeably active in the Council’s fund-raising lobster boil and, in recent years, he and Mary were instrumental in starting the Council’s annual community spelling bee fundraiser. This year, the 13th event will be named the Ron and Mary Maxwell Community Spelling Bee.
Ron was an avid outdoorsman and gardener and was especially knowledgeable of birds, wildflowers, and mushrooms. He and Mary wrote a weekly Notes from Nittany column for a number of years in The Pennsylvania Mirror. Ron enjoyed grouse hunting and fishing, and introducing young family members to the two new activities. He was also an accomplished woodworker and enjoyed making special items for family and friends.
The family will receive friends 6:00-8:00 p.m. Friday, March 11, at the State College Friends Meeting House, 611 East Prospect. A celebration of Ron’s life will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, March 12, at the State College Friends Meeting House, with Jeff Steppe officiating. A reception will follow.
The family wants to express its thanks for the loving care provided Ron and his family by the Home Nursing Agency. Contributions in Ron’s name may be made to Home Nursing Agency Hospice Care Unit, 201 Chestnut Avenue, P.O. Box 352, Altoona, PA 16603-0352.