Obituaries

Recent Obituaries
In Memoriam Archive

Robert Edward Taylor ’42

Robert Edward Taylor ’42, February 27, 2013, in Northampton, Massachusetts. Robert’s passion for French language and literature began when he read Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables as a teenager. He earned a BA in general literature at Reed, describing the experience as “a very rich (and everlasting) beginning.” During the war, he enlisted in the army air corps and served in the South Pacific. In 1951, he completed a PhD in French from Columbia University, specializing in 18th-century literature, and taught at New York University before joining the faculty in Romance languages at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He became head of the department in 1963, received the Ordre des Palmes Académiques in 1967, and retired as professor emeritus in 1992. Robert and Naomi Klatt ’43 married and had one son; they parted in 1961. He then married Olga Zazuliak; they welcomed a daughter in 1964. Survivors include his wife and daughter. His son predeceased him.

Appeared in Reed magazine: September 2013

comments powered by Disqus