By JACK TANGEL

A decade and a half ago, Larry Tangel would tell his children regularly that he’s “one day going to follow you to college.”

Larry Tangel

Born on Long Island but a lifelong resident of central Illinois (first Delevan, then Peoria, and now Mackinaw), the sexagenarian never obtained his Bachelor’s Degree — despite the mother of his children (Kari) holding a Master’s Degree and himself being the longstanding chief executive of the international company Enercon Engineering, based in East Peoria. Pointing his finger and grinning towards either his sole daughter (Sophie) or any one of his five sons, he’d launch his threat at the toddler to pre-teen, and, laughing, they’d entertain their old man’s antics before rolling their eyes with a shudder of genuine embarrassment at the possibility. Of course, nobody treated the idea as serious.

Since then, in the way it sometimes can, life for Larry and the Tangels has thrown its cruel punches. To the family, those simple times have the retrospective effect of sunlight in a dream — a soft warmth created through nostalgia and the ever-human practice of longing. In 2020, amid international lockdowns, the Tangel parents separated. Then, just a short year later, Larry was faced with a cancer diagnosis. By 2022, it had metastasized to his lungs, and he realized the time for making good on his promises had come — though none of his kids were in school at the time. Rather than wait, at 62 years old, he stepped down from his company and enrolled himself in Bradley University’s Philosophy and Religious Studies program. Soon, he was taking classes and doing homework with his younger peers while driving weekly to Iowa City for cancer treatment. Despite the trouble, he made it through his first semester (and, indeed, many of the following) with a straight-A slate.

However, it was his second semester at Bradley that brought everything full circle for the nontraditional student. In the following fall semester, two of his sons, who, like him, had been navigating a convoluted route through post-secondary education, enrolled themselves to study alongside their dad — wanting to make good on their initial childhood embarrassment at the idea. “At first, I was a little nervous,” said philosophy and political science major Mark Tangel, whose class schedule overlapped with his dad on two occasions, “but I quickly found that his presence amplified my experience more than I could have hoped.” Dr. Andrew Kelley, a philosophy professor who had the father-son duo multiple times in the classroom, commented: “They are both wonderful and passionate students. Several others were stunned to learn that they were father and son, even though they always sit next to one another.”

Throughout it all, Larry’s battle with cancer has continued. A promising initial remission eventually led to an unfortunate and recent return of the disease. Still, this month, as “Religious Studies Graduate of the Year”, he will make good on his lifelong promise and graduate between his two sons, Mark and Jack, your author — both proud to have shared such a unique and rewarding few years with their formidable father.

— Jack Tangel is a graduating senior in the English Department at Bradley University. You can find more of his writing on his blog: www.jackscorner.co