Frank Yow H’91, a professor emeritus of biology who was passionate about embryology and became a pilot in retirement, died May 5 in Cape Cod at the age of 94. A longtime faculty member, he officially joined the College in 1960 and retired more than 30 years later in 1991.
Yow was born May 1, 1931 in Asheville, North Carolina, and he went on to receive degrees in biology from Western Carolina University and then Emory College. He moved to Gambier with his family when he joined the department of biology.
While at Kenyon, Yow became a beloved teacher of embryology and other classes. He was known for making students feel as welcome in his home as they were in the classroom or lab, according to Ray Heithaus ’68 P’99 H’14, professor emeritus of environmental science and biology who got to know Yow as both a teacher and colleague.
“We would go to his house to discuss books — the whole class,” he said. “He was always very supportive — an excellent teacher. We read things as undergraduates that I later discovered people were reading in graduate school. That was pretty cool.”
Yow invited students to work on research with him, and Heithaus described him as “one of the early instigators of faculty-student collaborations in the biology department.”
During summers, Yow would spend time conducting research at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, at the extreme southwestern corner of Cape Cod.
His daughter, Kathy Yarman, of Gambier, said he was a natural teacher — in and out of the classroom — who made lasting connections with his students.
“I have had so many people who have reached out over the years to say, ‘Your dad was such a great teacher,’” she said. “Everything was a learning experience — as a father and as a teacher — and he made sure we learned something from everything.”
She added that he was particularly proud that so many of his students went on to become medical doctors.
Outside of the classroom, Yow was a longtime Gambier Village Council member who also served as mayor and was named Citizen of the Year, Yarman said. He also took on a number of hobbies, including participating in rallies and races with his 1961 Austin-Healey. He became a boat captain of the “Junie D” — named for his first wife, June D. Yow — and learned to pilot a plane and participated in Angel Flight, a nonprofit that provides free medical and compassion flights, according to his daughter.
Survivors include his children, Kathy Yarman and Paul Yow, and stepchildren Ann Batchelder Boring ’84, Bruce Batchelder, David Batchelder and Michael Batchelder. He was preceded in death by his spouses June D. Yow and Joan Batchelder Yow.
A celebration of life will be held at Yarman’s Gambier home at a future date. Memorial donations can be made to Angel Flight.