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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Retired Professor Spends Time Once Again As College Student

In the Renaissance and Reformation class at Whitworth College, 76-year-old Tom Macfarlane sits between a bearded guy wearing sandals and a woman young enough to be his granddaughter.

“They don’t always know how to take me,” said Macfarlane, his tanned face sectioned by smile lines.

Not many at Whitworth are members of both the student association and the American Association of Retired Persons.

Macfarlane doesn’t fit the college boy image. Maybe because he was college-boy age during the Great Depression.

A retired college psychology professor with a Ph.D from UCLA, Macfarlane has been slowly chipping away at a master’s degree in international history for four years.

Few of his fellow students know he set up a psychology department at Cal State-Santa Barbara or that he was the staff psychologist for Sky Lab. They do know, however, that he wrote an 18-page paper when he could have gotten away with four pages.

“It was about Marsilio Ficino, who was an Italian philosopher,” said Macfarlane, rolling the “r” and biting the “i” in with an Italian accent. “The senior scholar has to do something extra, doesn’t he?”

Macfarlane’s life story - told in an intimate “Do you have a minute?” manner - has taken a ballet of twists and spins. A “city boy” from Calgary, he got his first job at 19 as a teacher in a one-room country school in northern Alberta.

He saw World War II as a flight commander in the Royal Canadian Air Force, stationed in Britain. After the war ended, Macfarlane went to college - taking several courses in German in the process.

“To me, there was the Nazis and then there was the German people,” said Macfarlane.

After teaching for more than 20 years at California colleges, Macfarlane and his wife, Judy, decided to retire to Spokane because the cost of living was lower.

With the extra money, they started playing their own game of “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.” With Tom taking an occasional job as a teacher and Judy as a nurse, they lived in Bavaria, Spain and Japan and traveled extensively in Europe and Southeast Asia.

While at home near Whitworth, Macfarlane volunteered to be a relief psychologist with the Red Cross. He has been sent on a moment’s notice to help victims in the Northridge, Calif., earthquake and mammoth Midwest floods to offer stress-relief counseling.

“Shakiness is one of the symptoms of stress. I’m good with shakiness,” said Macfarlane.

Between trips and classes, Macfarlane is also studying Norwegian and has offered positive visualization lessons to Whitworth sports teams and the Spokane Chiefs hockey club. He tells athletes to picture soccer or hockey goals as red neon lights and the space inside as frosted glass.

“I give my time now. I guess that’s what you do when you are retired,” said Macfarlane.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo