William R. LaFleur, 1936-2010 March 3, 2010

Just received this in my inbox today from my alma mater.  I never had the chance to take any classes with Dr. LaFleur while at Penn, but he was very gracious to me the few times that I spoke with him.  His passing is truly a sad loss.

It is with great regret that we note the passing of Dr. William R LaFleur, E. Dale Saunders Professor in Japanese Studies at theUniversity of Pennsylvania.  Professor LaFleur was an authority on Japanese thought and culture.  His scholarship ranged widely: medieval literature, which he wrote about in  in Mirror of the Moon and Awesome Nightfall; his studies of the priest-poet Saigyo (1118-1180); broader issues of religious thought, which he took up  in The Karma of Words and Buddhism in Cultural Perspective; the complex issues of abortion, which he examined in Liquid Life, and questions of bioethics and contemporary philosophy.  The cause  of death was a massive heart attack on Friday, February 26, 2010.

As a gifted poet and philosopher, Bill brought humanity and wisdom to the study of everything he encountered, from the taste of tea to the technology of medicine, from hungry ghosts to haiku poets.  His students, colleagues, friends and family will miss him immensely.