William F. Davis Jr. ’50

Bill died July 14, 2020, in Williamsburg, Va., after a long illness. He was professor emeritus of English at William and Mary.

Before Princeton he served two years in the Army. He graduated with honors in English and belonged to Quadrangle.

 After teaching three years at the Webb School in California, he entered graduate school at Yale, where he earned a master’s degree and started a Ph.D. that he completed following two years teaching at the University of New Mexico.

In 1960 he went to William and Mary, where he taught American and English literature, and served on key university committees. Many of his students kept in touch long after taking his courses, which ranged from Writing 101 to graduate seminars. He was a visiting professor at Leeds University and the University of Hull in England, and directed William and Mary’s summer program at Cambridge. He retired in 1997. He was especially fond of Emily Dickinson’s poems.

At our 25th he wrote that a long and unsuccessful experiment with bachelorhood ended in 1968 when he married a fellow English professor, Marlene Baldwin. Together they enjoyed college life, their summer cottage on the Maine Coast, and travel, especially to England.

Bill is survived by Marlene, daughter Claire, and grandchildren Alyssa and Mikhayla.