Fosso, Doyle R.

August 15, 1933 - February 9, 2022

Doyle Fosso was the son of Ida and O.J. Fosso (a union organizer) and grew up eating lefse and blue cheese in the tradition of his Norwegian ancestors. Raised in Detroit, he easily identified new automobile models and was a weekly "sports quiz kid" on a Canadian radio program. As a young man, he was a counselor in a children's camp for polio sufferers - an experience that stayed with him forever.

He attended Harvard, a halcyon time of study, late-night sherry, wide-ranging conversation, mentors, and a plum job in the rare book room. Education was his lifelong pursuit – as student, teacher, reader, poet, and parent.

Doyle's fortunes increased upon spying his future wife, Evelyn, on a steamer crossing the Atlantic to Norway (where he enjoyed a Fulbright experience). Edmund Spenser's "Faerie Queene" received his doctoral attention, but Shakespeare was Dr. Fosso's deepest passion at WFU. His classes never yielded an "easy A," but were memorable enough to acknowledge him with a Wake Forest teaching award.

Upon retirement, he traded cap and gown for a John Deere hat and moved to Evelyn's homeplace in eastern NC. Their farmhouse, filled with contemporary art and books, was a welcome oasis for family. Two children, Martin and Elisabeth, absorbed Doyle's love of language and writing to this day. Three granddaughters – Emma, Camille, and Nathalia – coaxed a playful, loving delight from their doting grandfather. We traveled with him to the 100-Acre Wood, Alice's Wonderland, Wonka's factory and James's peach, Moominland, and through the wardrobe to Narnia.

As his eyesight faded, we read aloud from Mrs. Dalloway, poetry, and watched videos on Etal Adnan and Storm King. But mostly, I remember his vivid sensory descriptions of a perfumed, burnish'd, Cleo-carrying barge; laughing over cross-gartered yellow stockings; and trying to pronounce Costard's "honorificabilitudinitatibus." He was a remarkable man and father whose life was significant to many. No "dusty death" here.

Cremation Society of the Carolinas

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Winston-Salem Journal on Feb. 13, 2022.

Memories and Condolences
for Doyle Fosso

Sponsored by Cremation Society of the Carolinas/Capital Funeral Home - Raleigh.

7 Entries

Martin Fosso

April 24, 2022

Photo from my Mother and Father's (Doyle R. Fosso) trip to Hyattsville, MD. the week of their grandchild's birth: Nathalia Ida Fosso: April 14th 2009- Doyle drove all the way!!!

Trish Miller

February 27, 2022

Dr. Fosso's Shakespeare class was a delightful mix of intellect and passion and a fond memory of my time at Wake. 1982

David Kellogg

February 22, 2022

Here's my favorite memory of Dr. Fosso, from 1986:

I was writing my honors thesis (on Joyce, not Shakespeare) the semester I took Doyle Fosso's Shakespeare class, and by the last day of class I had stayed up several nights writing. But I showed up, as best I could, while he gave his legendary final lecture of the semester. Dr. Fosso always tended to wander around the classroom as he talked, stopping at key moments next to this or that student. His final lecture was, as I recall, about the semester itself - what we had studied, what we had learned - but it was made up primarily of texts from Shakespeare. There was some preparation, but also a lot of improvisation, as Dr. Fosso had memorized vast quantities of Shakespeare's writing. As he talked, I feel asleep, jerked myself awake, fell asleep again. I sat towards the front of the room, so my distress was obvious. Dr. Fosso walked about the room, effortlessly weaving Shakespeare and his own comments together. He came up behind me as I slumped, half awake at best, and said

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear. (A Midsummer Night's Dream V.1).

He paused significantly before uttering the words "slumber'd here," (he may have gestured in my direction, but I would have been too sleepy to notice).

The class broke into laughter. It was a beautiful, gentle gibe from a lovely man and a terrific teacher.

RIP Doyle Fosso. A

Garland Kimmer

February 19, 2022

Dr. Fosso was my advisor at WFU, and I remember our conversations deeply and fondly. As a teacher, his classes pushed me in new directions as a reader, a thinker, and a writer. My condolences.

Christopher Jensen

February 18, 2022

Professor Fosso instilled a deep love of Shakespeare in me... even if I only got B´s in his classes! I will never forget him and feel lucky to have taken his classes.

Theodora Drozdowski

February 17, 2022

I'm so sorry, Martin and Libby and your families. Your Dad was a wonderful presence when I was at Wake. I know you will miss him.

David Wagoner

February 17, 2022

My condolences. Dr. Fosso was my Shakespeare professor at Wake in the mid-80´s - I worked hard for a B, if memory serves. I was inspired (and a bit intimidated) by his passion for and knowledge of the Bard.

Showing 1 - 7 of 7 results