Alan B. Howard ’61

Alan died Aug. 26, 2024, at Greentree Farm in Albemarle County, Va.

Born in Denver, he grew up in nearby Littleton. Despite his dyslexia, he was accepted at Princeton, majoring in English. At Princeton, he ate at Cap and Gown, rowed on the heavies, and played rugby. He was one of two classmates who were allowed to get married while undergraduates and lived off campus. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in English at Stanford after teaching for two years at a private school

A dedicated teacher, Alan was a professor of English at the University of Virginia for almost four decades, including a year teaching in Australia as a Fulbright scholar. His specialties were American literature and American studies. He tapped his Colorado roots by becoming a cattle farmer along the way. This from his obituary: “He felt equally at home with William Faulkner and John Deere.”

Alan is survived by a sister, two ex-wives, two sons and two daughters-in-law, five grandchildren, and Sherree Tannen, who took great care of him in his last years.