Ball State University faculty member John Eiden was inspirational and helped people think creatively about the context of things. The founder of WBST, Muncie's affiliate of National Public Radio, was 64-years-old when he died at home last week from unknown causes. A memorial service was held Saturday.
Eiden stayed behind the scenes at work and did not take credit for the work his students did. He was the type of person who anyone could talk with.
Marcus Jackman, interim general manager at Indiana Public Radio, said he did not know Eiden personally, but everyone at Indiana Public Radio was thankful for everything he did for WBST.
"His work was encouraging and he mentored people all over the country," Jackman said. "His legacy in public radio will continue for a time to come. We certainly are saddened by his loss and will miss him a great deal."
Behrouz Kousari, educational resources equipment technician in Bracken Library, said sometimes Eiden was quiet, but other times he was full of laughter.
"I knew when he was quiet that he was contemplating and focusing on some problem," he said. "He was intrigued by the most unusual problems. The next day he's happy and vibrant and I knew he solved the problem and found the answer."
Kousari said they met years ago, but did not get to really know him until recently. He said Eiden did anything for anyone and was a multifaceted person. He talked about everything from art to history to philosophy, Kousari said.
Frank Eikenberry, Eiden's friend and former colleague, said Eiden had a hearty laugh and appreciated a good story or joke. Eikenberry said Eiden welcomed discussion or debate of complex or controversial ideas and concepts.
Eikenberry said he and his wife had Eiden over once a month to eat. He was a bachelor and because he came from a large family, he ate everything. Eikenberry said Eiden was a delight to cook for.
"I have never seen a bone picked cleaner than those on John's plate following a meal of steak, pork chops or chicken," he said. "He was also very fond of bread. No matter how much was in the basket to begin the meal the basket was always empty at the end."
Eikenberry said Eiden studied to be a priest, but resigned before he was ordained. Eikenberry said Eiden never told him why, and Eikenberry never asked.
Kousari said Eiden was fair, happy and extended his service and life to people.
"In the years that I knew him he truly was exemplifying life of the Christ in every detail," he said. "He would do anything for anybody regardless of age, sex or any other bias."
Eiden came to Ball State in 1968 to what is now the Department of Telecommunications and helped WBST, a NPR affiliate, get a license. He worked at WBST until 2000, when he became a microcomputer and network analyst in University Computing Services.
Stewart Vanderwilt, director and general manager of KUT radio in Austin, Tx., said if he asked Eiden for help, Eiden would ask, "Well, what is it you're really wanting to do?" Vanderwilt said if he wanted the light to work, Eiden would say there may be a better way to get the light on, and taught Vanderwilt to look at things in a larger context.
"He was exasperating and inspiring," he said. "He was a brilliant person and you sometimes felt you were complete after talking with him, and other times he clearly inspired you to think more creatively and think about everything. You were always better for it."
Family and friends made a memorial blog for Eiden online and had a memorial service for him on Saturday.
Eikenberry said Eiden gave advice to many people at Ball State during his 40 years of service, and he knew the rules and procedures. Eikenberry said Eiden had an admirable sense of fairness.
"He also had the unusual distinction of having fired David Letterman from his WBST student announcer staff after one on-air indiscretion too many," Eikenberry said.
Eiden would not just take a computer problem and fix it, but offered to help with anything.
"John would offer his help and not accept any payment except to see how he could make someone happy and their life be touched," he said. "He'd give anything without hesitation. He was so humble."
Eikenberry said Eiden was committed and responsible at work. He paid attention to technology problems and was familiar with computer systems and networking, he said.
At one time, Eikenberry said, Eiden was the foremost expert on the Microsoft NT operating system at Ball State.
"He brought order out of chaos in a matter of days to the technical services function in the College of Business, another impressive and improbable accomplishment," Eikenberry said. "He will be a great loss to Ball State."
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