Dr. William Bridges Hunter

Others have written that they know Bill’s work better than they knew him, but I knew him before I knew his work.
After an outside search that was conducted because our department was engaged in a bitter civil war, Bill was elected chair. Throughout the interview process and in his first weeks in office, he was always personable, cheerful, and completely at ease in what felt to me like a war zone. The first thing he did was to meet with each of us individually to discuss our academic...

I was already impressed by Bill's scholarly reputation before meeting him at the Milton conferences in Murfreesboro. Then I was delighted to discover what a charming and gracious man he was. I will miss him.

I knew Bill for more than 30 years, and valued his learning, his laughter, his Texas ties, and his ability to ask awkward questions.
Vestibus hunc igitur pullis, Academia, luge.

Until the late 1980s, I knew Bill only through his important and prolific work on Milton. When we met at the International Symposium in Vancouver, he expressed his intention to attend the first Milton conference in Murfreesboro, and he was a "regular" thereafter. And ever thoughtful, he wrote the academic deans at Middle Tennessee State University and Christian Brothers University after each conference to make sure they were aware of an event that he considered significant. Bill was a...

May he rest in peace, and rise in glory

For me, Bill Hunter was a model of what a scholar ought to be: fair-minded, generous, careful, patient, scrupulous, and kind. Some years ago he reviewed for Milton Studies an article whose argument was rooted in my belief that Milton did write the de Doctrina. Bill's criticism was extremely helpful, and he recommended that the essay be published. I am deeply grateful for that typical expression of his large-mindedness. I will remember him with affection and admiration.

Dr. Hunter was my teacher and mentor when I was at University of Houston. My favorite memories of my time at UH involve him, his excitement at his discoveries, his enthusiasm for literature, his relish for learning itself. I remember reading his reviews in the newspaper, signed as always “William B. Hunter, a student of literature.” Best of all were the seminars taught by other professors, particularly Dr. Sherry Zivley, in which Dr. Hunter participated along side the rest of us. I’ll...

To me, Bill Hunter was always a model of generosity and gentility. He also displayed great courage in taking a strong position against Milton's authorship of the work, De Doctrina Christiana, even when it meant undermining years of his earlier findings. We shall not see his like again.

I met Bill at the International Milton Symposium in 1991, the same year that the Southeastern Conference on John Milton was launched. Since he knew the area around Murfreesboro, Bill made a point of looking me up and telling me that he was coming to the conference. He attended faithfully every year until his health prevented his coming. He was a wonderful scholar, a wonderful human being, and a wonderful friend. Thanks Bill for all the good you did for so many years.