Santa Clara Magazine

Obituaries

Daniel Strickland, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering only 27 years old, died in a car accident on Sept. 22. Although he had been teaching at Santa Clara for just one year, he was admired and respected by his colleagues and loved by his students. Hundreds of mourners came to the Mission Church for a memorial service on Sept. 28. With a bachelor’s degree from Seattle University and a master’s and Ph.D. from Stanford University, Strickland taught thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. His particular research interests were in affordable energy conservation. A scholarship fund has been established in his memory. Donations may be sent to: Santa Clara University • Development Office, Gift Processing Department • Daniel Strickland Scholarship Fund • 500 El Camino Real • Santa Clara, CA 95053.

Constance “Connie” M. Ridder J.D. ’85, Aug. 5, 2011. “She was the voice of reason,” said her husband, P. Anthony Ridder, former Knight Ridder chief executive and SCU Board of Trustees member, as well as the 1986 recipient of an SCU honorary degree. Constance Louise Meach Ridder was born in Charlotte, Mich., and raised in Traverse City. A determined athlete, she was Central U.S. Ski Champion in 1957. She met Tony Ridder while they were students at University of Michigan. Years later, while the couple was living in Saratoga and raising four children, she completed her undergraduate degree at Stanford and earned a law degree from Santa Clara—studying law books while attending her son’s football practices. “She was still very much our mother. That was always her priority,” said daughter Susie Ridder J.D. ’93. Connie went on to become partner at the Miami office of Holland & Knight, one of the country’s largest law firms, and later served as executive director of the Filoli Center in Woodside.

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