Bernhardt Blumenthal, professor of German at LaSalle University in Philadelphia and chair of its foreign-languages and literatures department for 43 years, died at home of cancer Sept. 24, 2012. He was 75.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in German from LaSalle in 1959, and a master’s degree from Northwestern in 1961. During the 1961-62 year he studied at the University of Göttingen in Germany on a Fulbright scholarship. In 1965, he completed his Ph.D. in Germanic languages and literature at Princeton. Blumenthal had joined LaSalle’s faculty in 1963, and became chair of the foreign-languages department in 1969, continuing until his death.
Leo Rudnytzky, a friend and colleague who also taught German at LaSalle, said Blumenthal was a magnificent teacher and loved German poetry. Furthermore, he managed, over these long years, to keep the department functioning harmoniously and very productively.
Blumenthal’s poems appeared in books and in German periodicals. The Society for Contemporary American Literature in German awarded him its 2006 prize for best poem written in German for his work “Ancient Light.”
He is survived by his wife, Margie; four children; and a former wife, Carolyn Longo. He was predeceased by his first wife, Diane Dittmar.
Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.