Francis W. Warlow (1909-2002)

Francis Warlow was born in Philadelphia the son of A. Judson and Mathilde Warlow on July 29, 1909. He was educated at schools in Allentown, Pennsylvania and Baltimore, Maryland before earning his undergraduate degree at the Johns Hopkins University in 1931 with a major in English and a minor in Geology. For almost ten years after his graduation he was an instructor of English at the Carson Long Military Academy in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania. He was called up for military service in the Army Air Corps in January, 1941 and became an expert on the production of training films in Hollywood. In 1944, he was given command of the Sixth Combat Camera Unit, Thirteenth Army Air Force taking combat footage of fighter and bomber operations in the Pacific. He ended the war with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Upon his return to civilian life, Warlow earned a Master's degree in English in 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania and soon thereafter began doctoral studies. He also returned to teaching, first at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania and then at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania where he remained for the rest of his career in the Department of English. He completed his Penn doctorate in 1959. At Dickinson, he was a most active colleague. He was an influential member of the American Association of University Professors and served as chapter president and Pennsylvania division president. He advised the Follies and the Dickinsonian and was the driving force behind the institution of lacrosse at Dickinson from its inception as a club team to varsity status. He taught in France as a Fulbright Scholar in 1961-62 at the Universities of Rennes and Grenoble. He retired as a full professor of English in 1975.

Dr. Warlow's retirement was as active as his working life. He was active in numerous local civic organizations, he coached local children at tennis, and taught English at the Cumberland County Prison. In 1988, he was elected to the Carlisle Borough Council where he did not allow his previous connections with Dickinson to sway what he considered to be his ideas of good government. He had married Madeleine "Kelly" Warlow and enjoyed sixty years of marriage before her death. The couple had two sons, including Samuel, class of 1963, and two daughters. Francis W. Warlow died at the Thornwald Home on Thursday, June 27, 2002. He was ninety-two years old.