It was an ordinary day. Reading both online as well as my local newspaper about Dr. William B. McIlwaine who recently turned 100 years old. Yes...you read that correctly...he turned 100! What are the chances of that happening to me...or...you? I often wonder if I will reach that age. I have a little over 20 years to go before I can claim to be a centenarian. Because life expectancies worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations in 2012 estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarians worldwide; at the most! Yes, you read that correctly.....worldwide! Well, when I opened my newspaper and began reading, I realized that I had Dr. McIlwaine as a teacher when I was a student at MIllersville State Teacher's College back in 1962-1966. I had Professor McIlwaine as my Science teacher. Back then he was a college professor while he later gained a Doctor of Education degree and today is known as Dr. McIlwaine. I enjoyed his class, but must admit that I wasn't a very good student in any of my science classes that I had to take. My field of study was Industrial Arts...or for some of you...shop! I was happy to receive a "C" in Science classes and was ecstatic if I would happen to get a "B". Never once did I get an "A" in any Science class, both in high school or college. I read in several locations of Dr. McIlwaine reaching the 100 year plateau, age wise. I too would like to congratulate Dr. McIlwaine on his recent birthday. I read that Bill graduated from high school in 1942, and enlisted in the armed forces the following year. At that time, the U.S. had officially been fighting WWII and the conflict would continue to rage around the globe for another two years. Bill was assigned to the United States Army 80th Infantry, where he saw combat in a few of the war's bloodiest battles. During the Battle of the the Bulge in 1944, Bill was wounded by an artillery round and was later awarded the Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, a Combat Infantryman Badge and four Theatre of Operations stars for his rile in the fights. After the war ended in 1945, Bill enrolled at Boston University to study geology and chemistry. Bill married in 1950 to his sweetheart, Melva, and they had four children. While Bill was taking college classes at Penn State in 1957, he heard about a small school known as Millersville State Teacher's College. At the time he didn't know it, but the school wold become an accredited University and the home of his long teaching career. Bill and his young family moved to Millersville one year later where he earned a master's degree and a doctoral degree in the following years as he taught at Millersville State Teacher's College. He eventually helped obtain more than $1 million in grant funding as Millersville University's director of grants and awards, and he personally testified before a House of Representatives committee to advocate for educational equipment programs. Following his retirement from Millersville in 1991, he served on Millersville University's Board of Trustees for more than 20 years. Two of Bill's children remained in Lancaster County; Deb Shenk in Willow Street and David of East Petersburg. His other children are daughter Meredith Van Scherpenseel from Georgia and son Doug from Virginia. Deb said that "when our dad was involved with something, he attended all the meetings and took his involvement seriously. We grew up seeing that you do more than just your job. We learned that when you commit to something, you give 100%. I can still remember Mr. McIlwaine from my college days. He expected you to try your best while in his class, and if he could see you were trying your hardest, he would treat you fairly. I really did try my best, since I enjoyed Mr. McIlwaine as a teacher, but I struggled with science classes all through high school and college, and I was so glad to receive a "C" in his classes. I think he knew I was giving it my best! I always remember him as being a fair teacher and tried to be the same type of teacher throughout my 35+ years of teaching at Manheim Township High School...my high school Alma Mater. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - I may be a few weeks late...but I wish you...Dr. McIlwaine, a Happy and Healthy Birthday. I loved all the stories that were recently written about you. LDub
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