In Memoriam: Arthur J. Worrall

Quaker historian Arthur J. Worrall passed away peacefully on January 17, 2020. He was born in Havelock, Ontario, Canada on August 22, 1933, to the Reverend Ernest William George Worrall and Ethel Gillings. In 1948 the family moved to Camden, New York, where Arthur graduated from Camden High School. He earned a B.A. in history at the University of the South, Sewanee, TN in 1955. Shortly after graduation, he was inducted in the U.S. Army, serving two years in Japan where he made several lifelong friends. He then taught middle and high school at Howe Military Academy, Howe, IN. He attended graduate school at Indiana University, Bloomington, where he met his wife Janet Holasek and earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in History.

In 1967 Arthur joined the history department at Colorado State University, where he taught for 34 years until his 2001 retirement. He was deeply committed to faculty governance at the university and served on the Faculty Council for many years. Arthur specialized in colonial America and religious history, publishing several scholarly articles and books including Quakers of the Colonial Northeast (The University Press of New England, 1980). He contributed to the edited volumes, Quaker Crosscurrents: Three Hundred Years of Friends in the New York Yearly Meetings (1995) and Seeking the Light: Essays in Quaker History in Honor of Edwin B. Bronner (1986). Arthur was a frequent contributor to Quaker History. In addition to several book reviews, he published two articles in Quaker History: "Persecution, Politics, and War: Roger Williams, Quakers, and King Philip's War" 66 (Autumn 1977) and "The Impact of the Discipline Ireland, New England, and New York" 68 (Autumn 1979).

Arthur had an unwavering commitment to undergraduate education and formed lasting friendships with many former students. He left retirement in 2002 to teach for one semester with Janet at the University of Economics in Prague, Czech Republic. Arthur loved to travel—after retirement he and Janet visited Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Baltic, Norway, Finland, and many other countries.

Arthur is survived by his wife of 52 years, Janet; children Timothy (Tamara), granddaughters Zoe and Madeleine; Elizabeth Newsom (David), granddaughter Lori; and Thomas (Christina), grandchildren Luke, Matthew, William, and Emma; brother Robert Worrall (Faith) of Pearl City, IL and nephews Patrick and Kevin. He was preceded in death by sister-in-law, Dorothy Holasek Barrett, and is survived by her two children Geoffrey Barrett and Anne DeArmond.