Obituary of William French

William Wirt (Bill) French, age 79, of Morgantown, WV, died unexpectedly on February 18, 2012, of natural causes. The son of William Wirt French and Rebecca Cook Pauley, Bill grew up in Charleston, WV, graduating from Charleston High School. He enrolled at West Virginia University, joined Sigma Chi fraternity and, with support from generous family members and mentors at the university, earned his AB in English (1954). A couple of years after graduation, he served for two years in Germany as a private in the U.S. Army. He spoke often of his arrival in Frankfurt on Christmas Eve, of walking through the streets alone in uniform, the only clothes he had. At a gasthaus, the proprietor questioned him and, on hearing his story, invited him to his family home. Through the years Bill told of the joy and warmth of that celebratory evening, and the welcoming of a stranger. The G.I. bill helped support him as he earned first an MA, and then a PhD, in English from the University of Pittsburgh. His home state recruited him back, and for 35 years he served as a member of the faculty in the WVU Department of English, retiring in 1999 as a full professor. He specialized in Shakespeare as well as modern drama. In 1998, West Virginia University Press published his book, Maryat Leeâs EcoTheater: A Theater for the Twenty-First Century. Yet his great joy in his working life was in the classroom, where itâs not too much to say he influenced generations of students as a teacher and mentor. Their letters, visits, and emails over decades speak of understandings transformed, lives changed.Shakespeare and theatre may have been Billâs first loves when it came to the life of the mind, but his warmth, interests, and tremendous joys and passions stretched in many directions. He cherished his wife of 38 years, Dr. Martha French. Together, and with great zest for life in all its complexity, they raised a family of 3 children, two of them from his first marriage. Their life brimmed with shared activities: camping and canoe trips hikes in the splendid West Virginia mountains cheering on the WVU football team travel throughout the U.S. and abroad and every summer a week-long reunion with all the grown kids and their children, plus sister-in-law and a beloved niece, on the North Carolina coast. Together, they were founding members of St. Thomas à Becket Episcopal Church in Morgantown. And always, together, there were plays and movies to see, books to read, music to hear, ideas shared at dinners lasting well past midnight, and many hours spent poring over rare books with friends. In their salad days, he and Martha would drive all night for the chance to see King Lear â" and turn right around and come home, a picnic basket in the back seat to stave off hunger. More recently, they would take long excursions several times each year, with many visits to children in New York and North Carolina in between.In retirement, Bill looked forward each term to teaching a different Shakespeare play for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at WVU as an Honored Professor. He was beloved in this sphere as well, and he returned that warmth of feeling, speaking often of the particular nuance this group brought to the plays they discussed. He was a board member for Rotary Club as well as the Monongalia Arts Center. And he never turned down a game of poker with old friends. Bill also had an abiding love for the town where he made his home, so much so that he wrote The Morgantown Play or Dreams from a Shady Glen, a pageant play for Morgantown, Monongalia County, and West Virginia University. In November 2010, the City of Morgantown returned that regard by launching a production of the play at the restored Old Met on High Street, a venue he delighted in.In addition to his wife, Martha, Bill leaves behind three grown children: Thomas, Elizabeth and Edward their spouses and partners, Rhonda, Barry and Candace grandchildren Katie and Will sister-in-law Sallie and niece Sarah and nephew Mark many other adored family members and of course many fast friends, old and new. The best of husbands and fathers, Bill honored wife, children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews with genuine understanding. The best of hosts, he welcomed so many, and with such warmth, to his table and his life. There was always room, and always enough, for one more, even the unexpected stranger new to town. The best of teachers, there was always one more book to read, one more play to see, one more class to teach, one more conversation to have, and always, always more laughter to share.A visitation will be held on Saturday, February 25, from 11:00 am â" 1:00 pm at Hastings Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held Saturday, Feb. 25, at 5:00 pm, at St. Thomas à Becket Episcopal Church. Donations in Bill Frenchâs memory should be sent to the WVU Foundation (fund #2V012), to be used to aid undergraduate students studying Shakespeare. âAnd gladly would he learn, and gladly teach.â