Follow Us
Like Us
Historical records matching Andrew J. Von Hendy
view all
Immediate Family
-
wife
-
Privatechild -
Privatechild
-
Privatechild
-
Private Userspouse
-
father -
mother -
brother -
Privatesibling
-
Privatesibling
About Andrew J. Von Hendy
VON HENDY, Andrew J. Boston College English Professor Andrew J. Von Hendy died peacefully on June 6 after suffering from Parkinson's disease for several years. He was 86. From 1963 until his retirement in 2005, Andy was a much-beloved teacher of undergraduate and graduate students in the English Department at Boston College. His wide range of reading and erudition astonished everyone who knew him. But those who admired his intellectual gifts and passions were quick to recall his quiet kindness, his singular ability to listen, and his whimsical humor. As one colleague put it, Andy's presence made people feel safer in the world. While most professors settle in to become expert in a particular area, Andy never stopped learning new fields and inventing ambitious new courses. When asked, he would say that his primary field was English and Continental fiction of the 19th and 20th centuries. He also taught courses in long poetic narratives, literary theory, autobiography, poetry writing, myth in modern literature, and the conquest of the Americas. He initiated or participated in a number of experimental and team-taught courses, directed countless theses and dissertations, and read his colleagues' manuscripts with a shrewd and generous eye. His scrupulous attention to each of these commitments was legendary. In 2002, Andy published his major work, The Modern Construction of Myth, a sweeping and readable history of theories of myth from the 18th to the 20th centuries. His intellectual curiosity, his love of beauty in the arts and the natural world, and his verbal wit were dear to his family. . Andrew John Von Hendy was born to Andrew and Helen (Kinsley) Von Hendy on April 13, 1932, in Elmira, New York. He attended Catholic schools and received his B.A. from Niagara University in 1954. After serving in the army, he went to Cornell University on the G.I. Bill, where he earned his doctorate in English. He taught as an instructor at Bowdoin College before coming to Boston College as an assistant professor in 1963. He served as department chair, as director of the Ph.D. program, and on several major university committees. In 1956 he married Janet Goodrich, with whom he had three sons; the marriage later ended in divorce. In 1986 he married his colleague Rosemarie (Ti) Bodenheimer, with whom he shared a life of teaching and writing. He leaves his wife Rosemarie, his sons James and wife Kelly Tyler (Ben Lomond, CA), Andrew (Brighton, MA), Matthew and wife Ann Ferrero (Rockville, MD), his brother Frank (Blossburg, PA), his sister Sally Douglas (Elmira, NY), and several nieces and nephews. His family loves him, admires him, and misses him. Memorial gatherings will be private. Donations in his memory may be made to Amnesty International or Doctors Without Borders.
View the online memorial for Andrew J. VON HENDY at http://www.lastingmemories.com/memorial/andrew-von-hendy
Published in The Boston Globe on June 12, 2018 http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?n=andrew...
- Birth: Apr 13 1932 - Elmira, NY
- Parents: Andrew F. Von Hendy, Helen K, Von Hendy (born Kinsley)
- Siblings: Richard D. Von Hendy, <Private> Douglas (born Von Hendy), <Private> Von Hendy
- Wife: Rosemarie Von Hendy (born Bodenheimer)
- Wife: Janet M. Colwell (born Goodrich)
- Children: James Von Hendy, <Private> Von Hendy
view all
Andrew J. Von Hendy's Timeline
| 1932 |
April 13, 1932
|
Elmira, Chemung County, New York, United States
|
|
| 2018 |
June 6, 2018
Age 86
|
Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States
|