Fall, 1922: Gridiron Club formed at Phillips University to foster a hearty relationship between athletes and students.
   Fall, 1933: Phillips University drops football but Gridiron continues as first men's social service club on Phillips' campus.
   Fall, 1998: Phillips University closes its doors forever.
   This site is dedicated to the eight decades of Men of Gridiron lest we “forget the bond that binds us heart to heart.”

This site was last updated on: June 10, 2009

Men of Gridiron

 

Upcoming luncheon – For those members who plan to attend the Phillips alumni reunion and for those who live in the Enid area there will be a GUS luncheon Saturday, June 27^th at 12:30.  It will be at Pastimes - one block south of the square on Grand.  The hosts are Bat, Jink, Hiram and The Mole Man.  If you have not already, let me know if you plan to attend so the restaurant will know how many places to set.  So far, I have reservations for nine.

Website update – Gross England and I are in the process of updating the GC website, especially the contact roster.  It is a very slow process, and we are finished the Ls and working on the Ks.  Please, be patient.

In memoriam – Since the first of the year, the following Men of Gridiron have passed on (class year in parentheses):  Ron Carr (56), Paul Ehly (35), Sheldon Elliott (46), Doran Myers (45), and Paul Sharp (39).  If you know of others, please let me know so the obituary can be added to the website.

I hope to see you the 27^th.

 

Tom “Hiram” Walker

Class of ‘68

The Men of Gridiron

Announce their luncheon during this year's Phillips 2009 Reunion 

Date:   Saturday, June 27, 2009 

Time:  12:30 p.m. 

Place:  Pastimes Restaurant

            225 South Grand Ave, Enid

 

Sponsors:  Bat, Jink, Hiram and The Mole Man
Reservations:  contact Tom Walker at:

tom.walker@oscn.net

tom-walker363@att.net

-or call 580/226-7758.

 

Bob Bell ‘46

The Rev. W. Robert “Bob” Bell, 85, of Mountain Home died Saturday evening, Jan. 5, 2008, at Baxter Regional Medical Center.  A memorial service will be 2 p.m. Thursday at First Christian Church with the Rev. Lee Nirschl officiating.  Visitation will be noon-9 p.m. Wednesday at Roller Funeral Home with family receiving friends 5-7 p.m.

He was born and raised in Wichita, Kan.  He completed studies at Phillips University in Enid, Okla., and became an ordained minister of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) serving congregations in Mountain Home, Rogers, Monett, Mo., Slater, Mo., Stockton, Kan., and Leon, Kan.

Most knew him as the Rev. Bell from his ministry with First Christian Church in Mountain Home for 16 years.  Additionally, he served 12 years as supply minister to Lake Norfolk Presbyterian Church in Henderson, as well as four years as visitation minister for First United Methodist Church in Mountain Home.  However, there is much more to Bob’s life.  He also was a natural artist, published cartoonist -- both editorial and “Budgie” comic strip, published author of “Feathers From Heaven,” holder of two U.S. Patents, furniture maker, woodworker, self-taught offset printer, gardener -- a true “green thumb”, resourceful, creative handyman who could fix or make just about anything, fisherman, early bow hunter and a friend of nature, creatures and their habitats. He also restored an incomplete, disassembled civilian Jeep, and handbuilt his mother’s retirement home alongside his brother and father-in-law.

He was married to Winifred for 61 years and was father to daughter Patti of Springdale and son Don and daughter-in-law, Lee, of Rogers.  He also is survived by a brother, Fred Bell Jr., and sister-in-law, Phyllis ,of Lawrence, Kan.; a sister-in-law, Lois Milburn of Wilmette, Ill.; a sister-in-law, Roberta Carlson, and brother-in-law, David ,of Downers Grove, Ill.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Sheldon Elliott ‘46

Sheldon Ellwood Elliott, 83, a World War II veteran, Phillips Petroleum Company retiree and longtime resident of Bartlesville, died Tuesday, January 6 at Jane Phillips Medical Center.

Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday in the Elmwood Cemetery in Hartshorne, Oklahoma with Minister Dennis Voth officiating.  Memorial services will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday in the First Christian Church with Minister Gary Hagan officiating.  Graveside services and Memorial services are under the direction of the Stumpff Funeral Home & Crematory.

Sheldon was born July 9, 1925, in Asuncion, Paraguay, to Dr. Arthur E. and Ivy F. Elliott, who were serving as missionaries for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). After an early childhood in Paraguay, his family moved to Enid, Oklahoma, where he completed high school and one year at Phillips University before entering the Army Air Corps in June of 1943.

Sheldon served as a navigator on a B-29 for the 39th Bomb group at the island of Guam in the South Pacific.  He completed 30 combat missions, was promoted to First Lieutenant, and received the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters and a Distinguished Flying Cross.  His final mission was flying over the battleship Missouri in Tokyo harbor at the signing of the peace treaty ending World War II.

After the war, Sheldon returned to Phillips University and graduated in 1948 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics and Chemistry.  He married his Phillips classmate, Dorothy Trueblood, on August 14, 1948 and continued his studies in graduate school at the University of Michigan.  He completed a Master’s degree in Mathematics in June 1949.

He began his long career at Phillips Petroleum Company in 1951 in the Research and Development Department.  Over his 34 years at Phillips, Sheldon served as Branch Manager of the Research Branch in Bartlesville, as Chief Geophysicist of Phillips’ Europe-Africa subsidiary in London, and as Manager of Geophysics Worldwide in Bartlesville, until his retirement in 1985.

Outside of work, Sheldon had a lifelong association with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the First Christian Church of Bartlesville.  He was a church-school teacher and held offices of Administrative Board Chair and Chairman of the Board of Elders.  He served in a variety of boards and committees at the Regional Church level and on the Board of the Council on Christian Unity of the Disciples of Christ.  During his three years in London, he and Dorothy were members of the American Church in London, where he was Missions Chair and Vice President of the governing Council.

After his retirement, Sheldon continued to serve the Church as an Elder, as a board member of the Christian Church Foundation, and on the General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). In 1988, he joined the Board of Trustees of Phillips University, was elected Chairman of the Board of Phillips University in 1992, and was appointed Chancellor in 1994.  For his services to Phillips University, he received a Distinguished Service Award, a Distinguished Alumnus Award, and the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. He continued to serve on Board of Directors of the Phillips University Legacy Foundation.

Sheldon was preceded in death by his parents and his older brother Arthur F. Elliott, M.D. He is survived by Dorothy, his wife of 60 years, his daughters Linda Carolyn Elliott of Austin, Texas, Amy Susan Elliott of Riverton, Wyoming and Laura Ann Elliott, of Longmont, Colorado, his brother, James H. Elliott, M.D., of Nashville, Tennessee, and three granddaughters.

Mike Gilbert '67

James Michael Gilbert, 64, of Atlanta, Texas died Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008, in a local hospital.

Mr. Gilbert was born Dec. 2, 1944, in Atlanta. He was a retired pharmacist, a member of First Baptist Church, Atlanta, and a Vietnam War veteran.

Survivors include his mother, Laurice Hamilton Gilbert of Atlanta; one uncle and two aunts, Margaret Allison of Ida, La., and Morris and Maxine Hamilton of Linden, Texas; and a number of other relatives.