A letter from Claire Runkel just arrived telling me that Philip's cancer got the best of him and he died quietly at home at 4 a.m. Thursday morning the seventh of June. Phil had been looking forward to his 90th birthday (25 June) to celebrate some of the good things in life, but he didn't quite make it.
I sure am glad I drove up to Eugene in early May to see Phil and Claire and to tell them what they have meant to me.
If you would like to send Claire a note, here is the address:
Claire Runkel
5070 Fox Hollow Road
Eugene, Oregon 97405-4008
I just got Claire's note myself. Phil's passing is, indeed, very sad
and a great loss to PCT. But thanks in part to you, Dag, Phil has left
a wonderful legacy of work on PCT that will live on after him and
become part of the basic curriculum of PCT in the future. Phil's
brilliant, wry person will be missed but his vision of a science of
life based on PCT will continue in his wonderful methods book (Casting
Nets and Testing Specimens) and his textbook on PCT (People as Living
Things).
Rest in Peace, Phil
···
On 6/11/07, Dag Forssell <team@forsselltrans.com> wrote:
[From Dag Forssell (2007.06.11.1530)]
I choke as I sit down to write.
A letter from Claire Runkel just arrived telling me that Philip's
cancer got the best of him and he died quietly at home at 4 a.m.
Thursday morning the seventh of June. Phil had been looking forward
to his 90th birthday (25 June) to celebrate some of the good things
in life, but he didn't quite make it.
I sure am glad I drove up to Eugene in early May to see Phil and
Claire and to tell them what they have meant to me.
If you would like to send Claire a note, here is the address:
Claire Runkel
5070 Fox Hollow Road
Eugene, Oregon 97405-4008
Best, Dag
--
Richard S. Marken PhD
Lecturer in Psychology UCLA
Statistical Analyst VHA
rsmarken@gmail.com
What a tremendous loss. For CSG and the world in
general Phil brought a profound clarity of thinking
and getting to the heart of important matters that
will not be easily replaced. I shall miss him
greatly and feel saddened at his passing.
Phil was a remarkable human being. His PCT nuggets made him even more remarkable. I am very glad he entered my life. I will miss him. He seemed to possess the wisdom that if you could not say something good about someone, not to say anything at all. I will not forget him or his admiration for Bill Powers.
I was very sorry to hear about the passing of Phil Runkel.
I remember meeting him one time at a CSG conference in Haimowoods,
Wisconsin; I was impressed with
his thoughtful and scholarly remarks on a variety of topics.
He was kind enough to review a manuscript of mine on MOL Therapy, which
was recently published; his
comments were helpful, detailed, and reflected the statistical ideas he
taught all of us.
I will treasure his book 'People as Living Things ' which is part of my
library.
I am aware of the fact that Bill Powers made a special trip to visit him
recently and say
good-bye.
I was sorry to hear about the passing of Phil Runkel.
···
-----Original Message-----
From: Control Systems Group Network (CSGnet)
[mailto:CSGNET@LISTSERV.UIUC.EDU] On Behalf Of Dag Forssell
Sent: Monday, June 11, 2007 6:43 PM
To: CSGNET@LISTSERV.UIUC.EDU
Subject: Philip Runkel
[From Dag Forssell (2007.06.11.1530)]
I choke as I sit down to write.
A letter from Claire Runkel just arrived telling me that Philip's
cancer got the best of him and he died quietly at home at 4 a.m.
Thursday morning the seventh of June. Phil had been looking forward
to his 90th birthday (25 June) to celebrate some of the good things
in life, but he didn't quite make it.
I sure am glad I drove up to Eugene in early May to see Phil and
Claire and to tell them what they have meant to me.
If you would like to send Claire a note, here is the address:
Claire Runkel
5070 Fox Hollow Road
Eugene, Oregon 97405-4008
Best, Dag
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Phil demonstrated an inspiring combination of intelligence, diligence,
courage, and humor -- intelligence to apply the tools of investigation
and analysis and to distinguish results from wishes; diligence in
mastering those tools and in applying them with great industry; courage
in following wherever good results led and not acquiescing in delusion,
however convenient, once revealed as such; the good humor to weather
sundry slings and arrows and to communicate perhaps less than convenient
truths with gentlemanly wit. All of these I am confident he brought to
bear on his own condition and last days. One could not help but love the
man. He had good reason to be content in a life well lived. May his
example inform the reference perceptions governing the conduct of our
own lives.
It is through Phil Runkel's book, "Casting Nets and Testing Specimens: Two Grand
Methods of Psychology," that I came to understand and then crave for the ideas
based in PCT. I based some of my work on Phil's ideas.
He was gentle, both in person and in text. But he also had chutzpah in
challenging traditional ideas in psychology and human behavior. That is what
made his book such good reading and his posts so inspiring.
