In Memoriam
Springfield College maintains an ongoing list of obituaries for alumni. As a result of the limited space available in the print edition of Triangle magazine, we have set up a webpage that hosts a regularly updated list of obituaries and notices, which also link to the official obituaries and provide the most accurate information.
Listed below is a sampling of the obituaries we have received since January 2023.
James Earnest Genasci ’50, G’55. Genasci began teaching at Springfield College in 1963 as a Professor of Physical Education. During his tenure, he served as President of the Faculty Senate, Distinguished Professor of Humanics, and as a guest Professor (Beijing and Wuhan Institutes of PE). As part of his professional career, Genasci prepared research reports for several professional societies, including the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (AAHPER); the Philosophical Society for the Study of Sport (PSSS); and the North American Society for the Study of Sport History (NASSSH).
Charles J. Smith ’55. Smith retired in 2000 as Professor Emeritus following a long-standing tenure as Assistant Professor of Physical Education. Smith also coached springboard diving and competitive swimming at Springfield. He served as international ambassador to China, promoting swimming, diving, and physical education to prospective Chinese administrators, teachers, and students. In recognition of his efforts, the Charles J. Smith Lounge was dedicated in his honor outside the International Center on campus.
Daniel R. Smith ’60. Smith was believed to have been the last living child of a formerly enslaved American. After serving as a medic in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Smith ran an adult literacy program and an antipoverty organization in Alabama. Later, he worked with the federally-funded Office of Economic Opportunity, developing neighborhood health centers in needy areas of the country. Smith traveled to Washington, DC, in 1963 to attend the March on Washington, where he heard Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his “I Have a Dream” speech. Two years later, Smith marched with King across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in support of voting rights. Later, he became the head usher at Washington National Cathedral escorting presidents and their families at major national events.
Charles N. Roys ’61, G’67. Roys was a former Springfield College head baseball coach, emeritus associate professor of physical education, and inductee in several halls of fame. He taught nutrition and was the head baseball coach at Springfield College from 1979-1996, where he won 323 games during his eighteen-year career on Alden Street. Under his direction, Springfield College made five appearances in the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament, highlighted by the 1994 squad that reached the NCAA Division II World Series and produced a program record of twenty-eight victories. Roys was selected as the Northeast 10 Coach of the Year in 1990 and the New England Coach of the Year in 1994.
Jon Howard Rose ‘69. Rose was born to Kathryn and Howard Rose of Briarcliff Manor, New York, the first of their four children.He was a stand-out athlete and loved all sports.At Briarcliff High School, he played football, basketball, and pole-vaulted for the Bears’ track team.At Springfield College, Rose’s record pole vault of 15’6’’ still stands.He was named All-American when he graduated in 1969. 
