Brother John Dickson may not think of himself as a Renaissance man —
he doesn’t take himself that seriously. He might settle, though, for the label
“jack-of-all trades.”
To begin with, he’s the youngest son of the late Phi Kappa founder,
Gerald Dickson, and the younger brother of Jim Dickson, 93, who also was
in Phi Kappa.
John Dickson, 87, was initiated in 1953. He has vivid memories of his
freshman year at Illinois, but unlike his dad and brother, they’re not about
finding “a home away from home.”
“I went to two or three houses during pledge week, and Alpha Chi Rho
was foolish enough to take me,” he says with a laugh. “I didn’t like
pledging.”
He appreciates the irony of chafing under House rules despite having
grown up in a military family.
“My dad was in the First World War, so we learned to say ‘yes sir’ and
‘no sir’ as we grew up. I just didn’t think I was going to run into it at the
university. It didn’t fit my personality.”
John’s oldest brother, Gerald Jr., was a West Point grad and a career
military pilot, who died at 85. Middle brother Jim had served in the Army
before going to Illinois.
But John was uncomfortable with both the pledge system and difficult
freshman classes. He emphasizes that while he “almost washed out of
school, it wasn’t because of the Fraternity.”
Dickson, like Crows before and since, did enjoy the House dances and
exchanges with sororities.
“I thought (school) was going to be a cakewalk. I got involved with
extracurricular activities, including the university band, where I played
clarinet badly, and the ROTC-affiliated band where I was allowed to be the
drum major, because I’d done that in high school. But I hated to study — I
never have liked to study.”
This, from a man who, later on, was graduated from Illinois, and who
also earned two Masters degrees! Further irony: John Dickson, with
mediocre grades at the end of freshman year, enlisted in the Army soon
after becoming a Brother at Phi Kappa.
Along the way, he and a girl he’d known since fourth grade — Patricia —
realized they were in love. They married, then spent sixteen months
together in Europe, where he was stationed after going to the Army
Language School and learning Russian.
“It was like a vacation — there were no Russians around,” Dickson says.
What was around were Russian radio transmissions, so it’s safe to say
Dickson put his language talent to work.
“I returned to school after the Army but not back to the Fraternity,” he
says candidly. “I already had a roommate that I liked — Patricia.”
Still, after several years of combining college and work, Dickson earned
a degree in Agriculture, and taught vocational agriculture.
In the ensuing years, including a period when Dickson was in sales, the
man who “didn’t like to study” earned a Masters degree in Guidance and
Counseling, followed several years later by a Masters in School
Administration. To top it off, he became a high school principal.
“Of all my jobs, that’s the one I liked the most,” Dickson says. However,
with six children, Dickson eventually returned to a better-paying sales job,
“selling law books to lawyers.”
Once retired, Dickson and his wife had what he calls a “farmette” for
awhile before moving to Waunakee, Wisconsin. He and Patricia were
married 64 years before she passed away 18 months ago.
As for Dickson’s six children: “They all get along with each other and
they all love me and we love visiting.”
When asked how many grandchildren he has, Dickson laughs. “Don’t
ask — I have no idea.” His real answer is a bit more precise: “Fifteen or
sixteen — somewhere in that area.”
“ Other than that I don’t have any hobbies,” he says frankly. “I’m in good
health, I’m a bum, and I’m enjoying it.”
He talks with his older brother and fellow Crow, Jim, twice a week.
“His career path was different from what I took, and both of us feel we
made the right decision for ourselves, and we get along quite well.”
Says Dickson, “I don’t regret anything and I’ve had a good life so far.”