José M. Regueiro (1939–2017)

José Miguel Regueiro, an Associate Professor of Spanish at the University of Pennsylvania, passed away on the evening of Sunday, January 22, 2017 after a long battle with cancer. He was 78 years old.

Image courtesy of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, University of Pennsylvania.

José was affiliated with the university and with our department for 47 years: first as a graduate student, then as an instructor, and from 1972 onwards, as a member of the standing faculty in Romance Languages; following the division of the Romance Languages Department, he was a standing faculty member in Spanish and Portuguese. At the time of his retirement in December 2014, he was Associate Professor of Spanish.

José researched the Spanish comedia. He had studied with Arnold Reichenberger and Otis Green, and under the guidance of the former, he completed The Spanish Drama of the Golden Age: A Catalogue of the comedia Collection in the University of Pennsylvania Libraries (1971), an essential reference book for all scholars of Early Modern Spanish theater. In 1996 José published his Espacios dramáticos en el teatro español medieval, renacentista y barroco (Kassel, 1996).

The ultimate university citizen, and an outstanding teacher and administrator, José was gifted with a well-organized mind. He was meticulous in all aspects of the administrative life of the department, which he understood better than anyone else. He served in many positions. To date, he is the longest serving Undergraduate Chair in Spanish in our department history. In addition, he was, at one time or another, Graduate Chair, Managing Editor of Hispanic Review, and Director of the CGS Summer Program in Spain. He also represented Romance Languages in the faculty Senate.

Before his passing, José married Dr. Kathryn (Kate) K. McMahon, who has served for many years as Director of Language Instruction in Romance Languages. In addition to Kate, José is survived by his two sons: Dr. Miguel Regueiro, Professor of Gastroenterology at the University of Pittsburgh, and Dr. Richard Regueiro, Associate Professor of Engineering at the University of Colorado-Boulder. José also had many grandchildren, to whom he was particularly dedicated. Funeral services were held for him on Saturday, January 28 at 11:00 am in St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 3rd and Pine, Philadelphia.