Asa James Baber ’58

"Ace" died June 16, 2003, in Chicago, his birthplace and locus of his working life, after a long and courageous battle against ALS. He never lost his enviable sense of balance, wit, optimism, and inner peace that he lavished on all until the end.

Ace was a man who wore many hats: Husband, brother, professor, author, columnist, and Marine captain with military experience that profoundly affected and strengthened him for life. After Princeton, military duty, and graduate work at Northwestern

U., he attended the U. of Iowa Writer's Workshop. Thereafter, he taught at Roberts College in Istanbul and the U. of Hawaii, then returned to Chicago in 1975.

Ace then joined Playboy magazine, which had serialized his novel, The Land of a Million Elephants, based on his covert military work in Southeast Asia. His long-running column, "Men," placed him at the perimeter wire of gender warfare, but he was always well-armed with correct, though maybe not politically correct, ammunition. He spoke on college campuses, TV, and radio talk shows, and appeared on the 2002 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. Ace disclosed his illness in his column, and shared his progress, thoughts and hard-won wisdom, writing until the end.

The class extends its sympathy to his sons, Brendan and James, his sister, Dorothy, and his fiancee, Sherri Stubbs.

The Class of 1958