Darryl Jay Leiter

Darryl Jay Leiter

Darryl Jay Leiter passed away on Friday, March 4, 2011, surrounded by his loved ones, at Hospice of the Piedmont, after a long, brave battle against cancer.

He was born on February 25, 1937, in Birmingham, Alabama, to Beulah and Robert Leiter, and spent his boyhood in Atlanta, Georgia, with his lawyer parents, his grandma Rosie, and his younger sister, Paula. When he discovered his love of physics in high school, Darryl found a calling and a passion he would devote himself to all his life. After receiving his M.S. from Georgia Tech, he went on to earn his Ph.D. in theoretical physics, with a dissertation on elementary particles, from Brandeis University.

He taught at Boston College, the University of Windsor, Central Michigan University, and George Mason University, and received numerous research grants, including two senior fellowships at NASA. In recent years, as a faculty member in the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies Program at the University of Virginia, he taught a course, "Thinking about Cosmic Questions," in which he gently and joyfully guided students through the mysteries of the universe - its origins and ending, the nature of time, matter, and consciousness.

As a theoretical physicist, his interests ranged from the very small - the meaning of quantum mechanics, the arrow of time - to the infinitely large - the fate of the universe and the nature of the phenomenon known as black holes. Together with his colleagues, Rudy Shields and Stan Robertson, he evolved an alternate explanation of these mysterious objects, the theory of MECOs or magnetic eternally collapsing objects.

He published over 100 papers and, with his wife Sharon, authored a A Biographical Encyclopedia of Physicists, in which they explored the lives and works of the greatest modern physicists. For Darryl, a scientist who was never afraid to "think outside the box" and was more interested in knowing the truth than in being right, the struggles of these men and woman were inspirational, fortifying his resolve to follow his own, often controversial, path. He cared for nothing less than the "big questions" - and his scientific exactness and integrity were commingled with an artist's lyricism and the joyous awe of a believer in life's sacredness.

While dedicated to his work, Darryl's first care and concern was his family, who he supported with boundless love, optimism, and generosity. He spent 50 precious years with his wife, the poet and literary scholar, Sharon Leiter, learning about the world, traveling it, and raising their beloved daughter, Robin Leiter Edwards.

He watched with love and pride as Robin graduated from University of Virginia, became a lawyer and, as a managing attorney at Central Virginia Legal Aid Society in Charlottesville, devoted her talents to the less privileged. Darryl loved and admired his son-in-law, Sean Edwards, a military analyst and manager at the National Ground Intelligence Center, and when Sean and Robin moved from Los Angeles to Charlottesville to raise their family, Darryl's life, in its final decade, attained an unexpected richness and luminance. With Sharon, he had the joy of knowing and nurturing his three beautiful grandsons, Jacob, 9, Andrew, 7, and Sammy, 4. As their "Papa", he shared with them both the undying child in himself and the strong, wise friendship of an older man.

Darryl treasured the support of his wonderful sister, Paula Leiter Pergament and her husband, Dr. Michael Pergament, who guided him through his illness. He is mourned by a host of family and friends, including his sister-in-law, Linda Berger; his sister and brother-in-law, Naomi and Mel Singer; his nieces and nephews, Julie and Charles Pulvino, Marc and Shirley Berger, Adam Pergament, Ya Ling Tsai, Shannon and Marcus Pergament-Lowry, and Brian and Heidi Pergament; as well as his grand nieces and nephews.

Darryl's life will be celebrated 2 p.m. Sunday, March 6, 2011, at Hill and Wood Funeral Home, Charlottesville.

The family is establishing a fellowship in theoretical physics at Brandeis University in Darryl's honor.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.