FRANK WADSWORTH Obituary

WADSWORTH--Frank. 1919-2012. Scholar, educator, author, and sportsman, Frank Wadsworth, died peacefully on August 9th, 2012 at the age of 93. He is survived by his wife, Deborah Yohalem Wadsworth, his daughters Susan and Roxalene "Pebbles" (Christian) Wadsworth; his step-children, Adam (Debra), Lisa (Andrew), and Joshua Belsky, and his grandchildren Anna, Jonah, Malcolm, Henry, Asher, Elora and Anna. He was predeceased by his parents, Prescott Kingsley Wadsworth and Elizabeth Whittemore Wadsworth, and his first wife, Roxalene Nevins. Frank graduated from the Kent School (1938), After serving as a naval aviator in WWII, he completed his A.B. degree at Princeton University as well as his M.A. and Ph.D. Wadsworth was a distinguished and creative educator, who taught English literature at UCLA; University of Pittsburgh, and SUNY, Purchase. An unusually gifted administrator, noted for innovative programs and bureaucratic flexibility, he was Director of the Freshman English Program at UCLA, Dean of the Humanities Division, University of Pittsburgh, Founder and Vice President for Academic Affairs, SUNY, Purchase. He was a Founder and Senior Academic Officer of The Cooperative College Center, Mt. Vernon, NY. Numerous awards and academic honors, include: Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, Folger Shakespeare Library Fellow, Guggenheim Fellowship, and honorary Phi Beta Kappa A prolific author of scholarly papers and reviews, Wadsworth is probably best known for his genial defense of Shakespeare's authorship in The Poacher from Stratford. Wadsworth also served as a member of the Selection Committee for The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation; SUNY Faculty Senator; Trustee, Rye Country Day School; member Advisory Council, Department of English Princeton University. In addition he was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. In recognition of Professor Wadsworth's commitment and devotion to the scholarly integrity of anthropology, the Foundation renamed the Professional Development International Fellowship the Wadsworth Fellowship Program. Frank enjoyed his time on horseback or at the tiller of his sailboat as much as his scholarly work and interaction with his students. Burial occurred Arlington, VT on August 14, 2012

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Published by New York Times on Aug. 15, 2012.

Memories and Condolences
for FRANK WADSWORTH

Sponsored by Pebbles Wadsworth and Christian Smith.

7 Entries

Dianne Dies Schoch

September 9, 2012

I never had the pleasure of meeting Frank, but we spoke on the phone twice. As Pebbles' close friend, she set up our "meeting". He asked me to call him Frank within two seconds. He was funny, kind and most interested that our daughter wanted to go to Purchase from Texas! I promised to find time to visit him but never did. I will always regret this. Everyone knows of his many accomplishments, and I have seen my friend, Pebbles, speak of Frank so often with love and admiration. The two of us visited some of their family driving destinations together one summer. He will be miss! Di

Kathleen Craig

August 17, 2012

A truly inspirational educator. I took his course on Hamlet at Purchase. Each student was asked to write a paper on a character and I chose Ophelia. I can't think of another academic assignment throughout my entire college career that was more interesting than this one. My condolences to his family.

Bill King

August 17, 2012

When I was a new student at Purchase, Frank picked me up when I was hitching a ride off campus. We had a great conversation about our vision of the school. I was a transfer who had found home ground. What struck me about the man was the depth of his understanding, involvement, and ability to immediately relate to me on a number of planes. It was one of the best conversations of my life then ... and now.

Malcolm Ditton

August 16, 2012

My grandfather was very brave and kind.Everybody in our family loved him.I hope he had a good long life.I love you Granddady!!!! from:Mac

Malcolm Ditton

August 16, 2012

My grandfather was very brave and kind.He loved to sail and ride a horse.I will miss him and hope he moved on to a better place.I love you grandady!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pebbles wadsworth

August 15, 2012

My father was a renaissance man of first degree. He made the world a better place through his hard work. He will be missed by many around the world. While we had our differences later in life , I always have loved him dearly and that he knew. He and mother, Roxy, were great parents to both me and my sister. They instilled in me a great love of the outdoors, a hard work ethic, to laugh, live and play hard and above all be ethical and moral.

My father also taught me how important friends are and how blessed we are to have them. He would say "family you are born with......friends you chose to have." Frank was blessed by both.

May my father rest in peace knowing that his time on earth was very well spent and that he again made a huge positive contribution to the planet world wide.

Yes indeed, Frank lived life to the very fullest!

Respectfully & lovingly,

Pebbles

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