Deceased. Emeritus Seventy RONALD E. POELMAN, 83. A lawyer and successful businessman, Poelman was tapped to become a general authority in 1978. In October 1984, he gave a general conference speech titled “The Gospel and the Church,” in which he argued that “as we increase our knowledge, acceptance and application of gospel principles, we become less dependent on Church programs.” After some apostles objected to this and other statements, Poelman was asked to take the highly unusual steps of rewriting and retaping his speech, which was then published and spliced into the video record of general conference (Sunstone 10:1 [1985], 44–45).

 

Fired. BYU TV and film producer KENDALL WILCOX, who last July came out as a gay man. Wilcox said he was facing “an increasingly hostile work environment.” BYU spokesperson Carri Jenkins said that Wilcox was fired not because of his orientation but because “he refused to come to work, and he refused to communicate with his supervisor.”

 

Readmitted. To BYU, Basketball star BRANDON DAVIES, six months after being suspended for having sex with his girlfriend. The story of Davies’s suspension had received national media attention.

 

Deceased. Arthur C. Wiscombe, 82, of cancer at his home in Bountiful, Utah. Superintendent of Salt Lake City schools during the 60’s, he presided over divisive school closures and racial integration. He was a philosopher, thinker, and writer; in his own words: “I was a striver all my days to give a meaning to my life; I sought to be sensitive to the fates and sufferings of others; to sustain a passion and a love for life; to seek continuously to create something of value never before on earth.”As noted by emeritus BYU faculty member Tom Rogers: “Art sensed the great worth of every human soul, without exception, and strove for justice and mercy in their behalf . . . “ Art’s thoughts, essays, and extensive correspondence are preserved in his 150-volume personal collection.

 

Deceased. John Richard Calder, 80, on 11 December 2011. A valued Sunstone supporter and a member of the Utah History Association, the Mormon History Association, the John Whitmer Historical Association, and Sons of Utah Pioneers, he was truly an active member of the LDS Church.