IN REMEMBRANCE: Professor Emeritus Alma Blair ’49

Long-time faculty member Alma Blair ’49 passed away on April 7, 2023.

For 39 years, Blair educated Graceland students on LDS History, World Civilizations, and history topics. His passion for historical detail and accuracy inspired many of his students to become historians and curators.

He was passionate about Community of Christ history and was the preeminent expert on the history of Lamoni and its ties to the formation of the church. He spent much of his free time researching the founding families of Lamoni, photographing historic homes, and documenting historical events.

Blair joined Graceland as a faculty member in the fall of 1955 and helped establish the college’s four-year religion major. His impact was not limited to the classroom: he contributed to the establishment of the house system, helped organize the Phi Alpha Theta honor society in the late 1960s, and appeared in 28 plays and musicals, including the iconic role of Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof.”

He was a scholar through and through, authoring many articles and historical documents, filming and producing a documentary about Nauvoo, and was the president and secretary for the John Witmer Historical Association. He retired from Graceland as professor emeritus in 1994.