Gilbert E. Stokes, 89, of Marion, died Friday August 3, 2007. He was the husband of the late Dorothy (Miller) Stokes.
Born in Haverhill, he lived in Marion for many years. He received an A.B. degree from Dartmouth College in 1941 and an M. Ed. degree from the University of New Hampshire in 1948.
During the summer of 1940, Mr. Stokes was the creator and leader of a fossil expedition for Dartmouth College, collecting fossils in South Dakota and Wyoming. He started his teaching career at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, NH, where he taught for one year. It was at Brewster that he met Dorothy Miller, another member of the faculty, whom he married at the conclusion of the school year.
In September 1942, Mr. Stokes was asked to introduce the study of Biology as a course at Edward Lille High School in Auburn, ME. He taught in Auburn for two years where he was made chairman of the Science Departments of the Junior and Senior High Schools of the city. He was also made Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Auburn Teachers Association.
In September 1944 he began a career of 39 years at Tabor Academy. His initial assignment was to initiate a Biology course for the school. When the school organized various academic departments in 1954, he was made the first Chairman of the Science Department. He held that position for the following 18 years.
In 1960 Mr. Stokes was asked to be Chairman of a program involving four secondary schools working with personnel from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. This cooperative effort in oceanography was one of the first programs in the country which involved secondary school students in the subject of Oceanography and served as a model for other programs that followed.
In 1972 Mr. Stokes became Tabor's first Dean and served in that office for seven years. In the same year, a new Biology laboratory at Tabor was named in his honor. On October 19, 2007 the new Biology wing at Tabor will be dedicated in his name.
Of all the many activities Mr. Stokes was called upon to do at Tabor, teaching was the one foremost in his enthusiasms and he continued to teach every year. His last four years at the school were devoted exclusively to teaching. He retired in 1983.
He is survived by his children, Dr. Douglas M. Stokes and his wife Iris, of Ann Arbor, MI, and Stephanie Leguia and her husband Luis, of Milton; and two granddaughters, Caroline Leguia and Rachel Stokes.
He was the brother of the late Priscilla Normark and Gordon Stokes, M.D., who was his twin.
His Memorial Service will be held on Tuesday August 21, 2007 at 10 AM in the Wickenden Chapel at Tabor Academy. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to Tabor Academy, 66 Spring St., Marion, MA 02738. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.