I'm very sorry to report the sad news that our classmate Don Enss died yesterday morning, in his sleep. His son notified me this afternoon.
July 2018
Don took every class I offer, over several years, and was a true ambassador for MALA. He may be the most inspiring Lifelong Learner I've met. (Some of you may rival him.) He was going to do his capstone project for the degree with me in the Fall.
Thanks to Associate Dean Dawn McCormack, he got to lay eyes on his expedited diploma shortly before he left us.
Thanks to Associate Dean Dawn McCormack, he got to lay eyes on his expedited diploma shortly before he left us.
I think we'll all be aware of the empty chair, or rectangle, for the rest of the semester and beyond. I know I'm better for having known him.
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In lieu of flowers, Lee Enss suggests donations in Don's memory to the public library and on behalf of causes to redress voter suppression and discrimination against immigrants and minorities. "I've returned more than forty books to the Davidson system this week. In fact, one of the last wry comments he made to me was, "Guess I didn't need all those books, huh?" There's even a new book from Amazon still in transit... he was unhappy about voter suppression in the United States, as well as the treatment of immigrants and minority groups. You couldn't do him a disservice by contributing to any legitimate organization working toward those causes. And, of course, he now has a cause in large B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma research, and that suggestion came from my mother."
Dayton, TN
I am really sorry to hear this. Of course, I haven't known him/interacted with him hardly at all, but the light I felt him bring to the class is unique and beautiful. His spirits were so high, and he was so committed to learning and the process and comraderie of learning. I am sitting with this this evening, and wishing I could have experienced more time in his presence.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you picked up on Don's "light," Adam. That's exactly what he projected in every class I had with him. I particularly recall his enthusiasm in Environmental Ethics in Fall 2016, when he organized the class to create a video about climate change that he hoped we could put on YouTube to sway votes in the coming November election. And who knows, maybe we did.
DeleteI'm a decade younger than Don. My goal now is to be as enthusiastic about learning as he was, and as hopeful for the good each of us has it in us to do, when I'm 75.
I just googled Don. I remember two weeks ago when we last met, Don was advocating strongly for sending Letters to the Editor. Don, evidently, did this regularly. I found this one, published in the USA Today, from Don. I leave it here in memorium.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/readers/2019/04/07/wont-miss-aca-if-struck-down-court-readers-sound-off/3364594002/
Yes, he had countless letters published in the dnj and elsewhere. He really believed in civic engagement. He did what he could.
DeleteThanks for sharing that, Adam! I do remember Don encouraging us all to write those letters!!
DeleteMy last email exchange with Don:
ReplyDeleteDonald Enss
Sun, Feb 14, 1:12 PM (10 days ago)
to me
Dear Dr. Oliver,
Happy Birthday!
Don
Phil Oliver
Sun, Feb 14, 2:11 PM (10 days ago)
to Donald
Thank you, Don. You've inspired me to make the most of the years ahead.
I met Don Enss a couple of years ago in class at MTSU. He was retired in his very early 70’s and had a voracious intellectual appetite. He took a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses and was totally immersed in each one with a humble yet masterful command of the subject matter. One thing he was well versed on and had researched and written on was the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. His knowledge led me to ask him to participate and be interviewed in my documentary on the subject. He was a masterful storyteller and carried the heavy lifting as one of the major voices in the program. Occasionally, I would hear a soft knock on my office door and I would find Don there. After apologizing for interrupting me he would dazzle with his latest intellectual exploits. We became good friends. I think because he had cancer and beaten it, he had a certain courage and zest for life that was nothing short of contagious.
ReplyDeleteWhen the new semester started we learned that we would share an online class together. He soon bravely told me his cancer had returned and he was having treatment and that his doctor was cautious about how effective would be. Last week Don was in class but he was quieter than usual. Last night Don was not there and in the back of my mind I thought he must not be feeling well. At the end of class our professor told us Don was in the hospital and the prognosis was not good. Today Don passed. The world is not as bright and shining without Don. I suppose he is somewhere questioning and analyzing his new surroundings with that same intellectual prowessness that endured him to all that met him. So long Don Enss. You sir were a great American.
Shortly before my father's passing in 2008, I sat down with him and talked about things I'd long postponed. Then I read to him from an 1882 letter William James sent from abroad to his father on learning of the latter's illness:
Delete"Darling old Father,
...We have been so long accustomed to the hypothesis of your being taken away from us, especially during the past ten months, that the thought that this may be your last illness conveys no very sudden shock. You are old enough, you've given your message to the world in many ways and will not be forgotten; you are here left alone, and on the other side, let us hope and pray, dear, dear old Mother is waiting for you to join her. If you go, it will not be an inharmonious thing. Only, if you are still in possession of your normal consciousness, I should like to see you once again before we part... though we have often seemed at odds in the expression thereof, I'm sure there's a harmony somewhere, and that our strivings will combine. What my debt to you is goes beyond all my power of estimating,—so early, so penetrating and so constant has been the influence... —As for the other side, and Mother, and our all possibly meeting, I can't say anything. More than ever at this moment do I feel that if that were true, all would be solved and justified. And it comes strangely over me in bidding you good-bye how a life is but a day and expresses mainly but a single note. It is so much like the act of bidding an ordinary good-night. Good-night, my sacred old Father! If I don't see you again—Farewell! a blessed farewell! Your WILLIAM."
Don got his message out, I think. And the best case for dreaming of "the other side" I can think of is the prospect of talking to him again. But like my own dad, Don's going to be with me for the rest of my life.
Just...WOW!
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ReplyDeleteThat is just awesome that he got his diploma before leaving! From the wonderful words you've spoken of Don here, and in class, I am saddened not just for his passing, but also for only having been in the same class with him for a mere few weeks. I was truly looking forward to hearing more from him. As Adam said, Don did have a "light". I will now say a special prayer each night when I look up and see a bright shining star, knowing that it's Don, waving and encouraging us all to continue to learn and grow. Please know that you and Don's family are in my thoughts and prayers.
ReplyDeleteMe too Dr. Oliver.
ReplyDeleteI am deeply saddened to hear of Don's passing. He had taken a couple of SoJSM classes so I had the honor of engaging with him several times over the last two years. Don was certainly an inspiration to all who knew him, and his passion for learning was obvious in every conversation. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and all who were fortunate enough to know him.
ReplyDeleteThis news is saddening. Don was a friend to many at the library, and to converse with him was always such a joy. He brought a certain sincerity with him to each class, as evident through his compassion and humanity. I will miss his presence.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me so sad. I was only able to experience Don's character and personality through this class, but he definitely left an impact (even in this short period of time). I am absolutely keeping his family, friends, and loved ones in my prayers.
ReplyDeleteObituary of Donald Lee Enss
ReplyDeleteDonald Lee Enss died quietly in his sleep early Tuesday, February 23, 2021 in his Murfreesboro, Tennessee home in the company of his family, which is what he most wanted after realizing that he would not survive cancer after a sudden and unexpected hospitalization. He leaves behind his wife of 46 years, Cathy, sons Tim (Lee) and Jon, and daughter Marie.
Don was born to Theodore and Nettie Enss in 1946 and was raised on their farm in Marydel, Delaware. He has family there still, including a brother, Theodore Enss, and sister-in-law Rebecca. After leaving Delaware, he lived in the Maryland and Virginia areas around Washington, D.C. for years before eventually moving to Tennessee with his family in the eighties.
We’re all unique, but Don was a collection of sometimes unexpected and always endearing qualities and experiences. Over the course of his life, he was a member of the U.S. Navy, a hospital lab worker, and a certified public accountant, among other things. He traveled throughout the United States and, later in life, overseas to Ireland and Scotland, Poland and France. And he made friends easily wherever he went. More than one person said of him over the years that, “He could talk to anyone about anything.”
He was studious and silly, hardworking and playful. He loved Elvis and The Beatles, Saturday Night Live, the New York Yankees, the Montreal Canadiens, and movies of all kinds. He devoured many hundreds (if not thousands) of hours of films in multiple languages and all kinds of genres. And he read more books, and probably retained more of what he read, than most of us could ever hope to. History, politics, religion, philosophy, fiction, science and non-fiction—you name it, he had probably read it or was planning to read it. His car was littered with the hold request slips of Middle Tennessee’s public libraries.
Don remained curious about people and the world throughout his life, “retiring” from a technical remote support role for a large corporation into a new career as a student and historian. He graduated with a Master of Arts from Middle Tennessee State University in the final year of his life and lived to see the proof file for his first published work in an academic journal. With ideas for books and movies of his own, he was just getting started.
But for all the things Don knew, the one thing his family wanted him to know most as he said goodbye was that they loved him and will remember and miss him every day for the rest of their lives. As active as he was, he always made time for them and kept them in mind. He left them with his encouragement to live as long and as well as they can and believed he would see them again.
https://murfreesborofuneralhome.com/tribute/details/1708/Donald-Enss/obituary.html#tribute-start
This is wonderfully written and truly gives a sense of who he was. This was the only class I had with Don, but I greatly enjoyed hearing his perspective on the topics. I know he will be missed by so many.
DeleteWhen we first logged in on Zoom last week, I noticed Don was missing right away. His "rectangle" was always in the same spot on my computer screen and I noticed his absence immediately. Although I had never met Don, I could tell he was a remarkable man. He seemed so passionate about so many things and continued to enjoy learning and sharing his wisdom with others. This was the one and only class that I had with Don. I wish I had gotten to know him better. The knowledge that he left a lasting impression on this earth and will be remembered by many should make his family very proud. Rest easy, Don.
ReplyDeleteMy condolences. I didn't know Don, but he always contributed to this class with a positive attitude, even though he must have been in great pain. I celebrate his memory.
ReplyDeleteDon" can be a given name, short for names like Donald or Donovan. Why Lagging Game In certain contexts, "Don" is a title used to address the head or leader of a mafia family or criminal organization.
ReplyDelete