Obituaries

Joseph P. “Joe” Rumberger passed away on Oct. 22, 2018, at the age of 92. He earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and naval science and a master’s degree in anthropology and linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Navy office training program and later received a fellowship to study linguistics at the University of Indiana. He was also a Fulbright Scholar and earned a second master’s degree from the London School of Economics. He worked at several places before coming to Wesleyan in 1977 to work as the director of personnel. He was active in the Middletown community, taught Swahili, and wrote a memoir. He is survived by Gertrude, his wife of 57 years; three sons, Tim, James, and John; seven grandchildren, and a nephew. He was predeceased by son Tommy and brother Andy.

Lewis C. Robertson, professor of mathematics, emeritus, passed away on Dec. 22, 2018, at the age of 80. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Chicago and his PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles. Before teaching at Wesleyan, he was an assistant professor at the University of Washington. He taught at Wesleyan from 1970 to until his retirement in 1998. A passionate mathematician, Robertson conducted scholarly research on Lie groups, topological groups, and representation theory, and often collaborated with his Wesleyan colleagues on papers. Carol Wood, the Edward Burr Van Vleck Professor of Mathematics, emerita, said, “Lew was a gentle fellow, and unfailingly kind. As a mathematician he was extremely self-effacing. Nonetheless, it was impossible for him to hide his mathematical ability. Lew was a regular in the topology seminar over the decades, and when a topic (often outside his area of expertise) caught his interest, the depth of his comments would yet again remind me that Lew was a gifted mathematician.” Robertson is survived by his wife of 44 years, Janet; their son, Michael; one child from a previous marriage, Laureen; Janet’s daughters from a previous marriage, Julie and Jeanne; and eight grandchildren.

Joseph W. Reed, professor of English and American studies, emeritus, passed away on Feb. 11, 2019, at the age of 86. Reed earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from Yale University. He also served in the U.S. Navy. While at Wesleyan, he served as the chair of the English department and of the Sesquicentennial Committee, and was one of the founding architects of both American Studies and Film Studies at Wesleyan. He retired in 2004 after 44 years at Wesleyan. Richard Slotkin, the Olin Professor of English, emeritus said, “Joe Reed was my good friend and colleague for more than 40 years. His intelligence was adventurous, and his scholarly and teaching interests ranged from 18th-century British literature, to Faulkner and the American novel, to movies and television.” Reed is survived by his children, Mack, John, and Kate, and their families, including four grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife, Kit, author and former resident writer.