EDWARD RONDTHALER ’ 28 1905–2009
Pioneering Typographer Championed Simplified ‘Speling’
Why should the words “numb” and “some” be
spelled that differently when
they sound so much alike?
ERIC BARNES
Saunders ’ 25 to
renew his association membership. He explained the
process using the letters “U,”
Edward Rondthaler ’ 28,
who died Aug. 19 at age 104,
kept raising that question about
“N” and “C.”) The 1930s
machine was acquired by the
Smithsonian Institution.
English, campaigning much of
his life for a shift to simplified,
phonetic spellings. Such a
change would make it easier to
learn to read, he said, and for
non-native speakers to pick up
the language. (He would suggest
Rondthaler wrote several
books, among them Alphabet
Thesaurus: A Treasury of Letter
Designs and a memoir, Life
With Letters — As They Turned
Photogenic.
“num” and “sum,” for example.)
Rondthaler advocated a system called SoundSpel, adapted
from others’ earlier attempts
toward simplification.
Edward Rondthaler ’ 28 was an innovator in typesetting. The 1930s photo-typesetting machine he
and a partner created was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution.
“Foenetic speling wil maek
reeding and rieting neerly automatic for evry-body,” Rondthaler wrote in SoundSpel, in a
passage quoted by The Ne w York Times in a
But one of the most
important things he ever
wrote, The Ne w York Times
reported, might have been a
card the 15-year-old
Rondthaler wrote to a
Winston-Salem classmate:
“The bluebirds are flying from my heart to
you.”
1977 profile.
He was past president and chair of the
American Literacy Council, which among its
missions also supported simplification. With
Edward J. Lias, he edited the reference book
No matter the traditional spelling, its meaning was clear. They were married 10 years
later and Dorothy Reid Rondthaler was his
wife for 72 years, until her death in 2002.
— Keith King ’ 82
Dictionary of American Spelling: A Simplified
Alternative Spelling for the English Language.
Rondthaler came to his fascination with
words through his work with typesetting, an
interest spurred by a toy typesetter he received
in
memoriam
as a child. He and partner Harold Horman are
credited with developing processes at their
New York company, Photo-Lettering Inc., that
moved the printing industry from the old
metal type to phototypesetting, with easily
manipulated fonts of all shapes and sizes that
set the stage for modern digital typography. At
first they specialized in producing headline
type for magazines and advertisements.
(“Several times The Alumni Review has printed
advertisements with our photo-lettered headlines,” Rondthaler wrote in a 1939 letter to
then-GAA Secretary Maryon “Spike”
ONLINE: At age 102, Rondthaler made a
short video explaining with flip cards the problem
with standard English spelling and examples of
how it could be simplified. Watch it at
www.houseind.com/movie/.
well as chair of the student publications board. He
was president of Kappa Alpha and a member of the
Order of the Grail and Golden Fleece. u John
Broadus Funderburg Jr. (’ 44), 87, of Raleigh; Aug. 9,
2009. Funderburg was the fourth director of the N.C.
Museum of Natural Sciences, seeing it through its
accreditation by the American Association of
Museums. He served in the Army in WWII and the
Korean War. u Betty Kichline Gerow (’ 46, ’ 45 MA),
91, of Burlington; July 2, 2009. Gerow retired from
Nu and was on the freshman baseball team.
Dr. Ben M. Gold
(’ 45, ’ 46 BSMED;
’ 45 CMED), 85,
of Rocky Mount;
July 30, 2009.
Gold, right, was
an obstetrician
and gynecologist
in Rocky Mount.
In WWII, he
served in the
Army Air Forces
Medical Corps. At UNC, he belonged to Sigma
Elon College, where she taught advanced writing, linguistics and English literature. u Isaac Bates
Grainger Jr. (’ 41 AB), 90, of Charlotte; July 31, 2009.
Grainger’s career was in the hosiery industry. He was
a former board member of the National Association
of Hosiery Manufacturers. In WWII, he was in the
Navy. He was active as an alumnus, serving 10 years
on the UNC Board of Visitors, chairman of the 50th
reunion of the class of ’ 41, member of the UNC
Athletic Council and president of the alumni clubs in
Alamance and New Hanover counties. While a student, he belonged to Order of Gimghoul and Sigma
Alpha Epsilon. u Robert Clarke Gutknecht (’ 48 AB),
86, of Valencia, Calif.; May 23, 2009. Gutknecht
retired as a motion picture editor for Paramount
Studios. In WWII, he served in the Navy. u Robert
Alfred Hedrick (’ 46 AB, ’ 49 LLB), 86, of Raleigh; July
18, 2009. Hedrick served 24 years on the N.C. Court
of Appeals, eight as chief judge. Blind from a young
age, he had a love of music and was often asked to
sing at weddings. At UNC, he belonged to Glee Club
and St. Anthony Hall. u William Frantz “Fish” Herr
(’ 45, ’ 48 BSCOM), 86, of Lancaster, Pa.; July 4,
2009. Herr was chairman of the board of Serta
Mattress Co. and previously had been president of
the company. His chief community activities were history and historic restoration. In WWII, he was a Navy
communications officer. At UNC, he belonged to Beta
Theta Pi and was a member of the men’s swim
team. u George Franklin “Jeff” Hill Jr. (’ 43 AB), 86,
of Elizabeth City; June 26, 2009. Hill was a book
illustrator, illustrating nearly 50 books for the Peter
Pauper Press. Early in his career, he worked for
Madison Avenue advertising agencies. When he
retired, he devoted his skills to wooden religious
icons. In WWII, he served in the Army and the Coast
Guard. u Maye Randall Hill (’ 46 MAEd), 88, of
Emory, Va.; June 7, 2009. Hill was retired as an associate professor and director of elementary education
at Emory and Henry College. Hill and her husband,
also on the faculty, received the 1988 DeFriece
Medal from the college, in recognition of their service
as teachers and administrators. u Lucile Miller
Hoffman (’ 40 AB), 89, of Chicago; June 21, 2009.
For many years, Hoffman lived in Highland Park,
where she was the administrator and executive secretary in the law offices of her husband. She was
active in the reading to the blind program and was
president of the Highland Park Public Library board
of directors. u J. Phillip “Flip” Hogan (’ 48 BSCOM),
85, of Burlington; July 28, 2009. Hogan was a senior
partner in a CPA firm and an executive officer with
an insurance company. He served in the Army Air
Corps as a pilot in WWII. He was awarded an Air
