Timothy Stroup

1943 - 2020

Timothy Stroup

SAUGERTIES - You could trust him one hundred percent. He was a deep reader of human character. Back in the day, he could play tennis from dawn to dusk. On a squash court, he placed the ball accurately and with cunning spins. He was a "political junkie." He loved music and books and traveling and discovering world cuisines. He was a great friend and mentor. He and his wife were best friends for 60 years.

Timothy Stroup, 77, of Saugerties, N.Y., died December 14, 2020, survived by Alice Stroup, his loving wife of 58 years, and their dachshund, Bella. He was born September 8, 1943, in Manhattan, to Grace Guldin and Herbert Hewitt Stroup. Tim and Alice took their BAs at City College of the City University of New York and their DPhils at Oxford University. For more than 4 decades Tim was professor of philosophy at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He was a moral philosopher and world expert on Edward Westermarck. He authored Westermarck's Ethics and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry. In books, articles, and the classroom he developed an ethical theory inspired by Westermarck. Tim's search for justice manifested through his teaching; students who took his course on ethics and law found it transformative. Many became lifelong friends of Tim and Alice, as did Alice's students at Bard College. Tim's life was also marked by a search for beauty, primarily through art and music; the Stroups traveled the world to museums and concert halls and came to know renowned opera and lieder singers.

Tim was interred privately at the Rhinebeck Natural Cemetery. In his memory, please donate to Partners in Health and honor the Stroups' commitment to serving people with limited access to health care. Arrangements were under the direction of the Seamon-Wilsey Funeral Home, Cor. of John & Lafayette Sts., Saugerties. Expressions of condolence may be shared with the family on Tim's Tribute wall @SeamonWilseyFuneralHome.com