Professor Remembered For Hands-On Approach

Gerard Ernest Caspary, a UC Berkeley professor emeritus of medieval history, passed away in his home earlier this month. He was 79.

Caspary, who taught at UC Berkeley since the 1970s, was remembered by colleagues and former students for his hands-on approach to teaching.

"I saw him working very closely with students who would come to his office," said Paula Fass, a Margaret Byrne history professor and colleague of Caspary's. "He'd spend hours going over text with them."

Born in Frankfurt, Germany, on January 10, 1929, Caspary and his family were forced to flee to Paris in the 1930s to escape from the Nazi regime. He later moved to the United States and attended Swarthmore College, graduating summa cum laude in 1950.

Caspary attained his master's in 1952 and doctorate in 1962, both from Harvard University. He taught at Smith College from 1957 until 1970, when he came to UC Berkeley as an associate professor. In 1978, Caspary rose to the rank of full professor.

Caspary also garnered a number of awards throughout his career, including serving as a Guggenheim fellow in 1962-63 and a Berkeley Humanities Research fellow in 1970-71, 1975 and 1981-82.

Although Caspary never married and has no living relatives, he enjoyed a wide circle of devoted friends.

"There are people calling me from all over the country and the world asking about him," Fass said. "While he had no family, he had a lot of people who loved him."

Fass added that she shared a special bond with Caspary, who she chose as her son's godfather.

"I considered him a part of our family and I think he considered himself part of our family as well," she said.

Philippe Buc, a history professor at Stanford University, studied under Caspary for his master's degree and remembered sending his work to Caspary for comments while teaching at Stanford.

"I was still sending him things to look at two years ago and he would send them back with lots of writings on them. He was my mentor way after I got my degree," he said.

Caspury published three books throughout his career, but colleagues said his influence on the field was seen most through interactions with students.

"He shaped a whole generation, two generations, of graduate students who now populate the field," said Mary Elizabeth Berry, UC Berkeley's history department chair. "(His) biggest contribution was the work of his graduate students."

Former students agreed, remembering Caspary sharing his material with students instead of publishing them in textbooks.

"His mentoring was everything," Buc said. "He never published the reams and reams of pages he wrote ... He would give us all his ideas, all his data."

There will be a memorial fund organized in Caspary's name, Berry said.

Tags: GERARD ERNEST CASPARY, MEDIEVAL HISTORY