John Loftis, Bailey Professor of English emeritus at Stanford University, died Oct. 31, 2012, at the age of 93.
He graduated from Emory University in 1940, and earned a master’s degree from Princeton in 1942. After serving with the Navy in the Pacific during World War II, he returned to Princeton and completed his Ph.D. in English in 1948.
That year, Loftis became a member of the English faculty at UCLA. In 1952, he moved to Stanford, teaching there until 1981. He chaired the English department from 1973 to 1976, and his main fields were Restoration comedy, and later comparative literature. He published several important books, including a study of the influence of Spanish writers of their “Golden Age” (16th to 17th centuries) on their English contemporaries.
His interest in Hispanic studies evolved from his experiences as a visiting scholar in Peru in 1959. He pursued his scholarship and literary interests well into his 80s.
Loftis is survived by his wife, Anne Nevins, whom he married in 1946; three daughters; and seven grandchildren.
Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.