Los Angeles, California, Iris Cummings Critchell and her husband established the Bates Foundation College program at Harvey Mudd College of Science and Engineering at Claremont College.
An aviation pioneer and swimmer believed to be the last living Olympian from the 1936 Berlin Games passed away on January 24, 2025, at 104.
Highlights
- The last living Olympian from the 1936 Berlin Games, Iris Cummings Critchell, passed away at 104 for an undisclosed reason.
- Iris Cummings Critchell and Howard Critchell married on New Year’s Eve in 1944.
- They had two children: Sandie Clary and Robin Critchell.
The IOC and Harvey Mudd College, where she launched an aeronautics program, officially confirmed her death.
Harvey Mudd College President Harriet B. Nembhard poured a tribute to Iris by stating,
“Iris was a beloved instructor and mentor to countless Harvey Mudd College students and alumni, a pioneering female pilot in the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), an Olympic athlete, and a dear friend to many in our community,” While we are deeply saddened by her passing, we stand in awe of the tremendous accomplishments and life of such an amazing human being. Our thoughts are with her family as well as with all those she touched during her time with us.”
Harriet B. Nembhard
After making the 1936 Olympian team at swimming trials, Iris and other athletes were told there weren’t enough funds to send everybody on the 10-day trip to Germany.
At the Opening Ceremony, she took pictures of the Hindenburg flying above. She said she later watched Jesse Owens race from an athlete section at the Olympic Stadium.
She finished fourth in her 100m breaststroke heat in Berlin, the last Games until 1948 due to World War II.
Iris Cummings Critchell’s Husband, Howard Critchell, Was A Military Pilot
An Aviation pioneer and swimmer, Iris Cummings Critchell met her husband, military pilot Howard Critchell, while both were in the service in Monroe, Louisiana, in 1942.
After dating for several years, they officially married at a Kansas military base on New Year’s Eve, 1944.
In 1962, Iris and Howard established the Bates Aeronautics Program at Harvey Mudd College, where Cummings served 28 years as the director, but Howard retired in 1979.
Iris Cummings Critchell, last living Olympian from 1936 Berlin Games and aviation pioneer, dies at 104 https://t.co/EuagLjRt1Z
— NBC OlympicTalk (@NBCOlympicTalk) January 29, 2025
However, their married life ended after 70 years following the tragic death of Howard Cricthell on January 17, 2015, at 95.
Born on April 1, 1919, in Chicago, Illinois, Howard studied vocal music before listing in the Army Air Corps, where he served as a pilot for four years during World War II.
Howard loved to tell stories and had an annoyed sense of humor. Since age 10, he has been a ham radio operator, a call sign, and W6IHP.
One of his primary avocations was woodworking, and among his construction projects were a canoe, kayaks, and a small sailboat.
He loved music, too, and over the last twenty years, he has learned to play the violin, become a luthier, and rebuilt violins.
A 1990 Harvey Mudd College Honorary graduate, Howard received the College’s Lifetime Recognition award in 2007.
Iris Cummings Critchell And Howard Critchell Had Two Children
Iris Cummings Critchell and her husband, Howard Critchell, were blessed with one daughter, Sandie Clary, and one son, Robin Critchell.
Their daughter Sandie Clary went to Scripps College, and after graduation, she started working as a paralegal. She also has her commercial and instrument pilot’s license.
On the other hand, their son Robin Critchell served as an engineer at CBS. He significantly influenced many young teams operating in Southern California’s VHF and UHF bands in the ’70s’ and ’80s.
Robin and Alan Burgstahler, WA6AWD, at the time and now a silent key, created the Cactus Intertie, the World’s most prominent full duplex radio linked amateur radio network.
According to the source, Iris and Howard have three grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren who have avoided the media.
Currently, they are mourning the loss of Iris Cummings Critchell. Close ones and relatives have poured their heartfelt condolence into Critchell’s family to stay strong in this challenging period.
Additional Information
- Iris’s father earned a Doctorate in Medicine from Tufts University and, at the beginning of the 20th century, worked as an athletics coach at Columbia University. Her mother was a Greek and Latin teacher.
- She joined the Los Angeles Athletic Club in 1934 and received her first financial support in 1935, helping her attend that year’s Far Western Championships.
- Cummings was inducted into the National Flight Instructors Hall of Fame in 2000.
