Stanley Vandersall (2004)

Stanley Vandersall was the former chairman of the classics department at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He began Latin at Roxbury Latin School in his native Massachusetts. His undergraduate degree was from the College of Wooster and his graduate work at Ohio State was cut short by the demands of World War II. He learned sufficient Japanese to interpret intelligence documents in Hawaii and Japan. After the war, he took his position at Nebraska and for 37 years taught virtually every class in the department. Students often referred to him as Commander Vandersall, though in his passion to cover all aspects of the day's topic, he would the classes long; no one left. His other passions were his pipe and the railroads of North America. He retired in 1985 but maintained his presence in the classroom, teaching a course known popularly as "Latin for Retirees". He was married for 63 years and died last November at the age of 87. His generosity is evident in his bequests to a number of classical organizations.