Richard B. Mather ’35

Known to some of us as “Urchy,” Dick died Nov. 28, 2014, having just celebrated his 101st birthday.

Born in Baoding, China, the son of William Mather 1896, a Presbyterian missionary, Dick came to us from Pyongyang Foreigners School in Korea and Mercersburg Academy. At Princeton he majored in art and archaeology, sang in the Glee Club and choir, and belonged to the League of Evangelical Students. His senior-year roommate was Larry Johnson.

After attending Princeton and the Princeton Theological Seminary, he was a pastor before World War II began. Unable to return to China because of the war, he then earned a Ph.D. in Chinese literature at Berkeley and taught Chinese studies at the University of Minnesota until 1984. He was an internationally renowned expert in medieval Chinese literature and religion.

His wife, Virginia, whom he met while at Princeton, predeceased him in 2012. He is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth Klum; sons David and Samuel; and nephew William ’57.