Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 21:36:34 +0100
From: Willard McCarty <willard.mccarty@kcl.ac.uk>
Subject: Don Fowler
Dear Colleagues:
I am deeply saddened and sorry to report to you that Don Fowler, an
extraordinary human being, my friend and animi hortator, classicist and
long-time computing humanist, died last Thursday of cancer. Don was one of
the leading figures in literary criticism of the classics, one of those
rare people whose scholarly imagination matched the kind of command of the
languages and literatures in Greco-Roman studies that many only dream of. A
real scholar, a real mensch.
The last time I saw Don was in his rooms at Jesus College Oxford; he had
recently been given a Sun workstation, which he had tucked away in a little
room to the side of his books-and-papers littered office, not exactly sure
what he was going to do with it, but surely something interesting. We had a
great time, as always. The first time I met Don was many years ago, I think
Lou Burnard introduced us. Don set up a lecture for me at Jesus on my then
newly begun research project on Ovid and managed somehow to get about 15-20
people there, quite a crowd for Oxford, including Richard Tarrant, *still*
editor of the great edition of the Met we all want to see someday. I was
terrified, but it all went well, and afterwards Don took me out to dinner
with a group of students and, with the help of copious quantities of wine,
we all sang "What a friend we have in Jesus", which was paying the bill, as
I recall. On another occasion he arranged for me to have dinner with the
fellows of the College; quite an experience, I can tell you, and no doubt
he enjoyed watching as well as eating.
I will miss him.
Below is Michael Fraser's note, from which I learned of Don's death.
Yours,
WM
>--- Begin Forwarded Message ---
>Date: Mon, 18 Oct 1999 12:58:24 +0100 (BST)
>From: Michael Fraser <mike.fraser@computing-services.oxford.ac.uk>
>>
>I am very sorry to inform you that Don Fowler died last Thursday night
>at home. Don was a great friend of the CTI Centre. He was the
>longest-serving member of the Centre's management/advisory committees
>(a founding member of Oxford's CTI 'text searching' project in 1987).
>He inspired many of us in the Centre with his holistic view of the
>humanities, his real sense of play when it came to computers, and his
>humour to the end.
>
>I have been informed that Don's funeral service will be at Jesus College
>Chapel (and Hall) on Tuesday 26 October, at 10.30 a.m. The burial will
>be private. Rather than flowers, Don would like donations to be made to
>Imperial Cancer Research.
>
>Michael
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London
voice: +44 (0)171 848 2784 fax: +44 (0)171 848 5081
<Willard.McCarty@kcl.ac.uk> <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/>
maui gratia
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