News

CMU professor didn’t let polio sideline him

By Jerry Vondas

3 Min Read • Sept. 21, 2006 | 20 years Ago

Although diagnosed with polio, Preston Covey was a member of a championship swim team at Blake School in Hopkins, Minn.

He also took part in backpacking and canoe trips with friends on the rivers and throughout the rugged Minnesota terrain.

Preston K. Covey Jr., of Squirrel Hill, an associate professor of philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, died of post-polio syndrome Monday, Sept. 18, 2006, at home. He was 64.

"Preston was 10 years old when he developed polio," said his wife, Denise Troll Covey, principal librarian for special projects at CMU. "He managed well through his teenage and adult years, but his mobility began to deteriorate in the mid-1980s when he developed post-polio syndrome.

"Up until then, Preston jogged, played tennis and racquetball, lifted weights and walked 3 to 5 miles a day," his wife added.

When his legs could no longer sustain him, he began using a motorized wheelchair.

"And even when Preston was confined to a wheelchair, we enjoyed entertaining friends in our Squirrel Hill home," his wife recalled.

Born and raised in Minneapolis, Mr. Covey was one of five children of Preston Sr. and Nancy Humphrey Covey. His father was employed as a market researcher.

His sister, Barbara Covey, recalled her brother as opinionated but fun to be around. "He never let his polio discourage him," she said. "He took it in stride.

"Preston joined the swim team at Blake, and although his right arm was paralyzed, he stroked with his left arm," his sister added.

After graduation from high school in 1960, Mr. Covey earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Stanford University, later earning a Ph.D. jointly through the philosophy department and the humanities graduate program.

In 1973, Mr. Covey joined the CMU faculty, where from 1982 to 1985 he was the director of the interdepartmental Ethics, History and Public Policy Program.

"Preston was also the founding director of the Center for Advancement of Applied Ethics at CMU," Denise Covey added.

As one of his students, she found her professor to be a brilliant yet down-to-earth man who enjoyed going head-to-head in profound conversations.

"I married Preston in 2001," Denise Covey said. "I was his third wife. His first wife was Patricia Dudley, and his second wife was Kate Maloy."

One of the courses Mr. Covey taught at CMU involved conflict resolution as it applied to issues of criminal justice and violence in American society.

Mr. Preston took that course one step further when he was sworn in as a special deputy sheriff of Allegheny County and detailed to the firearms training staff.

"Preston was concerned about the ethics and moral dilemma of using firearms," his wife said.

"He purchased a gun after his house was robbed twice. He taught that under certain circumstances, the use of firearms could be justified," she said. "But he added that they should only be used as a last resort, when you can no longer talk it out with someone aiming to harm you."

Mr. Covey is survived by his wife, Denise Troll Covey; a son, Adam Covey, of San Francisco; stepchildren, Ryan Troll, of Santa Clara, Calif., Isaac Troll, of Johnstown, Cambria County, and Bronwyn Korchnak, of Clinton; and a grandson.

He also is survived by his siblings, Susan Covey, of Palo Alto, Calif.; Barbara Covey, of Oakland, Maine; Judith Carson, of Skokie, Ill.; and David Covey, of Sebastapol, Calif.

Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. today at John A. Freyvogel Sons Inc., 4900 Centre Ave., Oakland.

A memorial service at Carnegie Mellon University will be conducted at a later date.

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