Mr Robert M. Figg III

Professor Robert M. Figg, 78, died Saturday, February, 17, 2007, at his home in Lutz after a long struggle with pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Mary Figg; his daughter and her husband, Amy E. Figg and Steve Hillerson; his son and his wife, Paul S. Figg and Danet R. Figg; and his stepson, Kai Cremata. The son of Robert McC. Figg, Jr., and Sallie Tobias Figg, he was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, where the Ashley and Cooper Rivers come together to form the Atlantic Ocean. After graduating from the College of Charleston, he enlisted and served in the US Army during WW II. He attended Kenyon College, and received his Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He taught at Georgia Tech and Hollins College. As a Professor of English and American Literature at the University of South Florida for 38 years, Dr. Figg dedicated his life to teaching. He was highly regarded by his students, even though he held them to the loftiest and most rigorous standards, and was widely accepted by both faculty and students as one of the most challenging, demanding, and respected teachers in the English Department. He began and ended each day of his life with a book in hand, seeking knowledge and understanding. He was an unrepentant punster and avid follower of college and professional football. The memorial service will be Sunday, March 4, 2007, at the Gibbons Alumni Center, USF. The family requests that memorial donations be made to the Judeo Christian Health Clinic, 4120 � N. MacDill Ave., Tampa, FL 33607; or to the Humanities Institute at USF. Please omit flowers.