Robert Williamson

Robert Boatwright Williamson, known to his friends and family as "Will," died peacefully in his home on Sunday, February 5, at the age of 88. Born in Richmond, Virginia in 1934, Will spent most of his early years in the Charlottesville area. He earned his BA, MA, and PhD in philosophy at the University of Virginia, and read with Strauss and Hayek at the University of Chicago's Committee on Social Thought. In 1960, he and his wife Marilyn moved to Annapolis, where he was a long-time faculty member at St. John's College. Will was a polymath. His work beyond the classroom included co-authoring an Ancient Greek textbook, writing essays on Plato and Einstein, and translating from French the philosopher Kojève. An accomplished amateur actor with a focus on Shakespeare, his roles included Hamlet and Othello, parts he still could still recite from memory in the last weeks of his life. Will shared a love of literature and travel with Marilyn, who predeceased him. Together, they instilled in their three children a love of learning for its own sake. Those who knew Will remember his expansive and logical mind, his gentle and kind manner, and his flashes of brilliant humor. Will is survived by his three children, Rebecca, Marc, and Hal, and his five grandchildren, Isaac, Lia, Gabby, William, and Daphne. A graveside ceremony will be held at 2:30 on Saturday, March 11 at Hillcrest Memorial Cemetery in Annapolis, immediately followed by a celebration of life at Blackwall Hitch in Eastport.