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Katherine Drew Obituary
09/24/1923 - 03/19/2023
Katherine Fischer Drew, passed away on Sunday, the 19th of March 2023, in Houston. She was 99 years of age.
Katherine entered Rice Institute at age 16 and completed her BA and MA in 1944 and 1945 respectively. She instructed there for two years then attended Cornell University earning her PhD., in the 1950. There she met her future husband, Ron.
She returned to Rice to become the first woman on the faculty and helped develop the history and humanities department to national recognition. During her career she was recognized for: Editor, Rice University Studies, 1967-1981; Acting Dean of Humanities and social science 1973; chairman of history department 1970-1980; Acting Chairman of department of art and art history 1996-1998: and Lynette S. Autrey professor of history 1985-1996.
Among her awards and honors were: Phi Beta Kappa 1943; Guggenheim Fellow 1959; American Philosophical Society Grants 1961, '63, '67 and '78; Fulbright Scholar 1965; Resident Scholar, Rockefeller Foundation's Villa Serbelloni Center, Bellagio, Italy; Brown Teaching Award; Senior Fellow, National Endowment for the Humanities; Elected Fellow, Medieval Academy of America; and the Association of Rice Alumni Meritorious University Service Awards.
She was the author of several books including the Burgundian Code, 1944; The Lombard Laws,1973; and Magna Carta, 2004.
As a post script for those assistants, students and friends who knew and respected her good counsel, Katherine once delivered a more direct approach to critique and counseling as a child. As a class bully picked on her younger sister, Katherine jumped into the fray and slugged the boy who was her sister's tormentor. And away to the principal she went.
She is preceded in death by her husband Ronald Drew; her parents, Herbert H. and Martha (Halloway) Fischer; and her siblings, Herbert F. and Mary Fischer.
She is survived by her nephews, Carl F. and wife Mary (Sapp) Fischer and Donald H. and wife Sherry (McFarland) Fischer.
The family will gather for a private interment at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Katherine Drew
Sponsored by Geo. H. Lewis & Sons Funeral Directors.
4 Entries
Betty Brown Klein
April 12, 2023
Dr Drew was my advisor at Rice, helping me get through a rigorous course of study after I had decided, a bit late, to major in history. I also worked as a secretary in the History Department while she was the Chairman. Dr Drew impressed me particularly when she invited students, including me, to her home in small groups for a formal dinner with her and her husband. I was from a small town and had never attended such an event.
Dr Drew also had a great sense of humor, even when explaining why I had received a 0 on a final exam. She was firm, but gentle. I learned a lot from her, and not just history.
Elizabeth Rose
March 28, 2023
Dr. Drew was one of the reasons I majored in history at Rice. She was both inspiring and a demanding teacher.
Rick Gilpin, B.A., 1967
March 27, 2023
Of all the teachers I experienced at Rice, she had the greatest influence on my intellectual development. Truly a great
Jean Meyer
March 26, 2023
Words cannot express the admiration I held for Dr Drew as a teacher and role model. It was a privilege to have been her student so many years ago.
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