Professor Burnham Terrell

1923 - 2013

Dailey Burnham Terrell Professor Emeritus of the Philosophy Department and a founder and first director of the Honors Program at the University of Minnesota, died November 13th, 2013, in Houston, Texas.  He was ninety years old.
During his forty-year career at the University of Minnesota, Prof. Terrell won inclusion for the university faculty and staff into state health and retirement programs.  He also assisted in establishing one of the nation's first African-American studies programs.  He was the author of the widely-used textbooks, Logic: A Modern Introduction to Deductive Reasoning and Exercises in Logic, as well as numerous articles on the work of Franz Brentano.
Throughout his life, Prof. Terrell was guided by the Quaker principles of nonviolence.  He participated in the March on Washington in 1963; followed Dr. Martin Luther King across the Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama; led for twelve years peaceful protests and vigils in opposition to the war in Viet Nam.  Following the Prague Spring, in 1968, he assisted the first students from Czechoslovakia to emigrate to the United States.  For the last 15 years of his life he was a key figure in the Houston Chapter of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
Prof. Terrell was born in Port Arthur, Texas, on November 12, 1923, the eldest son of Henry Dailey and Myra Burnham Terrell.  In 1945, he graduated from Swarthmore College, and later received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Michigan.  
While in Minnesota he was a founding member of the Twin Cities Friends Meeting.  Upon moving to Houston he joined the Live Oak Friends Meeting, and attended St. Joseph's Catholic Church with his wife, Joan Terrell.  In his eighties, he brought the lovely voice of his flute to the St. Joseph's Choir, continuing to play until the choir was disbanded this fall.
He was a loving parent, perceptive, patient and tender. Despite life-long health challenges, he lived with gusto and generosity of spirit.
Dr. Terrell was preceded in death by his dearly beloved late wife, Julia (Kessel Terrell). He is survived by his treasured life long friend and precious wife of 21 years, Joan (Cochran) and his children Geoffrey Terrell, Eva Terrell, Christopher Todd, Elizabeth Todd Glandt, Carl Kessel, Cindy Kessel Bamford, Clyde Kessel, William Kessel, Thomas McNeely, and 15 cherished grand- and great-grandchildren, as well as his "Czech children" of the Zabransky/Simon family. He is also survived by his brother Ralph Terrell and family, and the fruits of his fully lived life, countless devoted friends.
A memorial service will be held on December 14, 2013 at 11 am at the Live Oak Friends Meeting House, 1318 West 26th Street, Houston, Texas. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Live Oak Friends Meeting.