It finally happened. I know someone who died of COVID-19. He was an English professor, a colleague of mine at the university where I teach. While we were prone to chat whenever we ran into each other, I would not have called him a friend.
He was 70 and not yet retired. He spent more than 40 years in education, either in high school or at the college level. He directed the university’s writing center for the 20 years I’ve been here.
He was gay, but never came out. I doubt he ever had a romantic partner. I think he had a conservative Christian upbringing and never quite got over it. He served for some years on the university’s LGBTQ+ Commission, but eventually stepped down because he just could not agree that plural pronouns for an individual, or non-gendered pronouns, could be adopted in formal English writing. He also came to panel discussions, hosted by the LGBTQ+ student group. on the relationship between religion and the LGBTQ+ community. With his knowledge of the Bible, he could face off toe-to-toe with religious bigots who might show up.
He was something of a fuddy-duddy, and he never would have won a beauty contest. He played the organ at his church. He was a decent man who did his job with dedication up until the very end. He will be missed.
Because he deserves it, here’s a hymn of farewell. I’d like to think it would agree with his Christian beliefs and sensibility.
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