Necrology
Gordon Roderick Ring '63
Sep. 19, 1940-Jan. 25, 2021
A longtime staff member and alumni officer of the East-West Center in Hawaii, Gordon Roderick Ring ’63 discovered his career path in a course at Hamilton.
It was Professor of History Edwin B. Lee, Jr.’s course in Asian history. Ring would go on to attain a master’s degree in that subject and to make his life in Hawaii. Ring, of Honolulu, died on Jan. 25, 2021.
He began his life in New Britain, Conn., born on Sept. 19, 1940, the son of Carlyle and Lois Tooley Ring. He graduated from Jamestown (N.Y.) High School and followed the lead of his two brothers, James Ring ’51, P’84 and Carlyle Ring, Jr. ’53, P’87, by enrolling at Hamilton.
A history major, Ring was a member of the College Band and the Debate Club. When asked to share a College memory for his 25th reunion, at a time when Ring had lived for decades in balmy Hawaii, he recalled a cold-weather tidbit: “Keeping cheese and apple cider on a window ledge in the winter for late-night snacks.”
Ring first went to the East-West Center as a student with a scholarship. The center is a nonprofit organization with the mission of promoting better relations among the people and governments of the U.S., Asia, and the Pacific. He earned a master’s degree in Chinese history in 1967 and a master’s in business in 1986, both at the University of Hawaii. He taught Asian history for a few years before doing public affairs work at the center beginning in 1969. He became assistant to the president, a position he held for a decade. In 1983, Ring became an alumni officer. He retired in 2011.
In a memorial tribute to Ring, center President Richard Vuylsteke praised him for his positive energy, good humor, and dedication to the center and its alumni. “Gordon was a model of what unqualified friendship and institutional dedication can mean,” Vuylsteke said.
Ring’s deep connection to Hamilton traces back to his grandfather, James Tooley, Class of 1891. Ring’s late brother, Jim, was not only an alumnus but a revered Hamilton professor of physics, and his sister-in-law, the late Elizabeth Ring (who was married to Jim), was on the philosophy faculty.
Survivors include his wife, Milly Ring, a son, brother Carlyle, and nephews Andrew Ring ’84 and John Ring ’87.
