Edward Alexander

One of my favorite professors at the University of Washington. In his classes - this would have been the early 1970s - he gave me an appreciation of the deep and unsettling intellectual crosscurrents in the Victorian era, which continues to inform my thinking and writing today.

He may have had the world's most magnificent eyebrows, but I remember him above all as erudite, witty, and a strong advocate for the arts and literature while a professor at the University of Washington and a member of the National Association of Scholars, where I worked with him. I will miss his charm, keen intelligence and wicked sense of humor, especially with regard to the PC nonsense currently in vogue on university campuses. May he rest in peace!

This is my father on his 83rd birthday, which was also the seventh night of Hanukkah, December 28th, 2019. His two children, Rebecca and David, are behind him. To his right is his great granddaughter, Adalynn, and he is holding his grandson, George.

Edward Alexander, celebrating his mother Sadie's 98th birthday. Grandson, Philip, to his right and wife, Leah, to his left.

My mother and father on my mother's birthday, in 2011.

Edward Alexander was unswerving in his support for the Jewish people. I felt honored to know him and his wife, Leah. They were my mentors in speaking out for social justice.

When I came to UW in 1982, Eddie was one of the first people to welcome me. While we certainly didn’t agree on many things, he had no trouble separating the personal from the partisan. He was a loyal colleague who kept in touch long after he retired. My deepest sympathy to his family.

Edward was an advocate for Israel and the Jewish people. He was also a friend and teacher.

Edward Alexander is a life-long mentor and close friend to me though we only communicated through emails. I came to know more about the Jewish people through his works and his deeds. He will be in my heart forever.