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<TITLE>Anthony W. C. Phelps 1931-2005</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Anthony W. C. Phelps, a well-known Cleveland archivist, died yesterday morning (August 1). He had been diagnosed in early June with lung cancer. Tony will be greatly missed by the Cleveland archival community, as he has been a constant presence in Cleveland ever since the late 1950s, and most people were not aware that he was ill. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Mr. Phelps was born in 1931 as a subject of the British crown, the scion of an old English family which he proudly stated had survived centuries of recusancy. He was a representative of the old-world gentry and was at odds with many trends in the modern world. He was so incensed at the ‘carnival of bad taste’ after the death of Princess Diana that he requested that no public notice be given at his own death. He used the Cleveland bus system to get around and was a familiar sight with his folding cane-stool.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Tony was the archivist for the Rowfant Club, a men’s club for book lovers located in downtown Cleveland which has a rich collection of archives as well as an outstanding library of rare books. He had previously been at the Western Reserve Historical Society for many years. He was an expert in heraldry and was in communication with other heraldic experts around the world, including many members of the Royal College of Arms in London. He was a longstanding member of the Heraldry Committee of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, which in the absence of a formal structure to grant arms, has been the closest thing to a college of arms in this country. He devised arms for many corporate entities and individuals both in the Cleveland area and across the country, including clergy and many Catholic and Episcopal dioceses and parishes, as well as other churches. He was a devout Catholic and wrote the history of several parishes, including St. Francis of Assisi and most recently St. Ignatius of Antioch. He was on the diocesan commission on sacred arts, which is making a survey of all the art objects owned by the Diocese of Cleveland.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">He designed a coat of arms for CAR, the Cleveland Archival Roundtable (which he helped to found), that incorporates a visually punning reference to a car wheel, as well as billets representing paper documents or bytes of information coming out of the darkness into the light. Tony had a wry sense of humor, and when CAR members chose him as treasurer (the organization’s only formally elected officer), he changed the title to “Chancellor of the Exchequer,” and members accordingly voted him this office. He served for many years in this capacity and always had a minutely detailed account of finances at the meetings.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">The funeral will be held Thursday, August 4, at 7 PM at St. Ignatius of Antioch Church, located at the corner of West Boulevard and Lorain Avenue in Cleveland. A reception will follow.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">For further information contact the CAR Steering Committee, Cleveland, Ohio (Fred Lautzenheiser will field messages at lautzef@ccf.org).</FONT></P>
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