PROFESSOR EMERITUS HENRY JISHA PASSES AWAY
Written by Steve Depoe, Department Head
Last week, Jay Jisha notified us of the passing of his father Henry Jisha on July 8. Henry was a faculty member at UC from 1960-2000, teaching Communication and Oral Interpretation courses for forty years.
Here is the note Jay sent us:
Henry J. Jisha of Sarasota passed away on July 8, 2015. Henry was a native of Houston, Texas and earned degrees from The University of Houston and Baylor University. He spent two years in the U.S. Army and then earned a Ph.D. in Speech from Wayne State University. Dr. Jisha moved to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1960 and embarked on a 40 year career with the Department of Communication at the University of Cincinnati. He was a popular and respected professor earning many accolades for his teaching, including being named Ohio’s outstanding college communication teacher in 1986. In 2000, he retired and moved to Sarasota, Florida to enjoy the sunshine and travel the world. Henry also had a lifelong passion for church music. He was an accomplished pianist, organist and choir director. Throughout his life, he brought joy through music to many different congregations. Henry is survived by his wife of 53 years Margaret Charlyn, son, Jay Jisha and his wife Christine Jisha of Tampa and a brother Fred Jisha of Oregon. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday July 14 at 3:00 at the Covenant Life Presbyterian Church Sarasota, Florida. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Covenant Life Presbyterian Church music fund.
Here are some remembrances from some of his colleagues:
“I loved Dr. Jisha. He brought the love of Oral Interp to all of his students. I learned to be a better teacher because of him. His life was a blessing.” (Marlene Shmalo)
“I remember him well; I’ll miss him.” (Wendy Larcher)
“Will never forget Henry’s trade-mark slogans, voices and many gestures. He made it a great day when proclaiming that, ‘you are with it!'” (Lisa Newman)
“Sad news to hear of Henry Jisha¹s passing. Henry’s teaching definitely had an impact and made a difference. Very sad to hear he is gone.” (Stephen Haas)
If you have any fond memories of Henry Jisha that you would like to share, please do so in the comments section below. We’ll miss Henry Jisha–a real gem!