Edward J. Dudley (July 18, 1926 – July 21, 2008)

EDWARD J. DUDLEY July 18, 1926 – July 21, 2008 Edward J. Dudley, Ph. D., Professor of Spanish and Comparative Literature and longtime chairman of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the State University of New York at Buffalo, died from the effects of Parkinson’s disease July 21 in Sanford University of South Dakota Medical Center, Sioux Falls. He was 82. Born in St. Paul, MN, in 1926, Dr. Dudley joined the navy at 17 and served in the final years of World War II. After the war, he returned to the University of Minnesota on the GI Bill and earned his BA and MA degrees in English Literature. He traveled extensively in Europe and South America during the early 1950s, working as an English language professor, before teaching Spanish at St. John’s University in Minnesota, and earning his doctorate in Spanish literature in 1963. In 1959, he married Patricia Hayes, a concert pianist. Dr. Dudley taught Spanish and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Pittsburgh before joining the faculty of SUNY at Buffalo in 1974. At SUNYAB, Dr. Dudley served as chairman of the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, and then of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. He stepped down in 1983 to CALÍOPE Vol. 14 No. 1 2008: pages 115-116 116 Edward J. Dudley ! ! ! ! ! return to the classroom. He also was the director of the Council on International Studies from 1981 to 1983. Dr. Dudley retired from teaching in 1999, at which time his life work was honored with “Convergencias Hispánicas,” an international Hispanic studies conference sponsored by the SUNY at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences, and its Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. A scholar on the works of Miguel de Cervantes, Dr. Dudley was author and editor of several articles and books. His most recent book is The Endless Text: Don Quixote and the Hermeneutics of Romance, which was selected as an outstanding academic book in English, 1998, by Choice, the journal of the American Library Association. He was one of the founding members of the Society for Renaissance and Baroque Hispanic Poetry. He continued to publish articles and mentor graduate students and younger colleagues until the effects of Parkinson’s disease limited his ability to write and study. Beyond being a splendid colleague, Ed was a close personal friend. Over the years, as we worked on each other’s papers and went to conferences together, he became a mentor in many ways, and our lives became closely entwined. As a scholarly companion, he was clear, objective, learned, and respectfully gentle when discussing my lacunae, errors, and failings. He was also genuinely grateful for my suggestions and critiques of his work in its developing stages. He was, among other things for me, a brilliant teacher without appearing to be so. In these, as in many other areas, he provided guidance, insight, compassion, and solace. And as two who had served as chairpersons of academic departments, with the attendant factiousness, competitiveness, and jealousies, we comforted each other when the going got tough, trying always to provide distance and perspective on the troubles. The most severe blow for me was that Parkinson’s deprived him of the ability to communicate. After that, his death came as something of a blessing. He will be missed. He is survived by his wife Patricia and two sons, John and David. A memorial service was held on August 9, 2008, at Holy Spirit Church, St. Paul. Howard B. Westcott State University College at Freedonia ...