CSC loses two, plans tribute

Friends and family are expected to gather 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Chicoine Atrium of Chadron State’s Sandoz Center to commemorate the lives of Dorset Graves and Milton Wolf, former CSC employees who died this past week.

Reta E. King Library staff and faculty members organized the tribute, which opens this semester’s inaugural Dorset Graves Lecture Series

Graves, 87, died Saturday at Crest View Care Center, where he had resided the past two months after breaking his hip. During his 32-year career at CSC, Graves, a consummate reader, was a fixture at King Library, so much so, that in 2006, the library staff named its weekly lecture series in his honor.

In addition to teaching, he served as chairman of the Division of Language and Literature for 29 years. He retired in 1990, but spent another 15 years teaching as an adjunct in that department, now known as the Department of English and Humanities.

Survivors include his wife Meredith, two sons and six grandchildren.

Wolf, former director of King Library, died Thursday from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 70.

Wolf’s body was found Thursday morning in the driver’s seat of his red pickup truck, which was parked in the lot at Chadron’s Motel 6. On Wednesday evening, Wolf and his longtime friend and housemate, Carl Elges, checked in to the motel after they were among the 150 residents forced to evacuate their homes southwest of town during last week’s wildfires.

Elges said the evacuation order came after Wolf had taken a sleeping pill that night.

“He was even more disoriented because of that,” Elges said Wednesday evening.

The prospect of losing his house in addition to everything else that was going on was too much for him, Elges said. After eating breakfast at a local restaurant, Wolf and Elges looked southwest from the restaurant’s parking lot, where fires burned less than 50 feet from their home. Although their home survived, Elges said it wasn’t apparent at the time and that Wolf likely thought the fire had consumed their dwelling.

“He just decided he’d had enough,” Elges said.

Assistant Director of Public Services at King Library, Shawn Hartman, said Wednesday that Wolf was suffering from complications of heart disease, prostate cancer and the side effects brought by the medications he was taking.

“He’s been sick for a year-and-a-half,” Hartman said. “The medications were fighting him.”

Hartman also said that Wolf became depressed and was taking anti-depressant drugs, but later discontinued using them because of the extreme side effects.

Doctors diagnosed Wolf with prostate cancer in April. During testing prior to surgery, doctors discovered a heart virus, Hartman said.

He underwent prostate surgery July 10, and although the surgery was successful, the condition’s side effects and the medications took their toll on his psychological health, Hartman said.

Hartman said the matter of Wolf’s replacement hadn’t been addressed, but that she and the other library staff would “carry on.”

“I’ll fulfill his wishes, I hope,” Hartman said. “[I’ll] finish what he started.”

Hartman said Wolf’s wit and intelligence are among two of the things she’ll miss the most.

“Milton knew his stuff,” Hartman said. “It’s been an absolute honor [working with him].”

Graves/Wolf Tribute

• What: Inaugural 2012 Graves Lecture Series tribute dedicated to Dorset Graves and Milton Wolf. Send memories and anecdotes to “[email protected]” or “[email protected].”
• When: 7 p.m., Tuesday
• Where: Chicoine Atrium, Mari Sandoz Center, Chadron State College