Background
Willis E. McNelly was born on December 16, 1920, in Waupun, Wisconsin, United States. He was the son of Willis Everett and Mary Lydia McNelly. He had a sister.
Willis E. McNelly was born on December 16, 1920, in Waupun, Wisconsin, United States. He was the son of Willis Everett and Mary Lydia McNelly. He had a sister.
In 1942 Willis E. McNelly received his bachelor’s degree from Central YMCA College. In 1948 he obtained his master’s degree from the Loyola University of Chicago. In 1957 McNelly gained his doctorate from Northwestern University. His education was interrupted twice, by military service during World War II and the Korean War.
Willis E. McNelly’s teaching career began at Loyola University, Chicago, where he was an English instructor while still attending graduate school; this was followed by six years as a high school teacher and department chair at Rich Township High School in Park Forest, Illinois, from 1952 to 1958. After his doctorate was completed, he joined the staff at Santa Ana College for three years before moving on to California State University at Fullerton (CSUF) in 1961. He remained there until his retirement as professor emeritus thirty-one years later.
During his tenure, McNelly served three terms on the university’s Academic Senate and held various administrative appointments. He also was a member of several committees, including the Faculty Personnel Committee. In addition, he was a campus sponsor for Alpha Phi Omega and the Newman Club for thirty years. His love for science fiction and writings about the genre also brought him much recognition. He became friends with such masters of sci-fi as Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, Robert A. Heinlein, and Harlan Ellison, and was especially close to Frank Herbert. These connections aided him, too, in his endeavor to create a comprehensive science-fiction collection for his university’s library, which now includes many rare and limited editions of classic works in the genre.
After his retirement, McNelly served as president of the CSUF Emeriti organization and was its representative to the Academic Senate. His love for libraries led him to serve as a trustee of the Fullerton Public Library from 1992 to 1998. McNelly, who also penned poetry under the pseudonym Geoffrey Tabard, also authored Science Fiction: The Academic Awakening (1974) as well as several edited works, including Mars, We Love You: Tales of Mars, Men, and Martians (1971; third edition, 1975), Science-Fiction Novellas (1976), and The Dune Encyclopedia (1984).
Willis E. McNelly was widely recognized as an authority on such English and Irish authors as William Shakespeare, T. S. Eliot, William Butler Yeats, and James Joyce. He best remembered for his efforts to have science fiction taken more seriously as a legitimate genre worthy of study. McNelly was selected as California State University Fullerton’s Outstanding Professor of the Year in 1975 and in 1976 received the prestigious California State University Outstanding Professor of the Year award. He was the second Cal State Fullerton faculty member to receive the system-wide honor.
Willis E. McNelly with his wife played a formative and leadership role in the Catholic lay action movement during the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Willis E. McNelly's name was Genevieve. They had five children: Peter, Patrick, Margaret Schimmels, James, and Jean Bowers.
