Hans Joachim Freund, the Edward E. Hale, Jr., Professor of English Emeritus, died August 24. He was 83.
Professor Freund was described by a former dean of the faculty as “the true modern Renaissance man of Union,” and his teaching was often hailed by students for its power, range, and intensity. His English courses often explored the Western cultural heritage in breadth as well as depth, and he also enlightened students-both in and outside of the classroom-in German, the classics, art, and religious studies.
He was born in Cologne, Germany, in 1919, leaving as a teenager when it became clear that he would not be able to attend a German university (the grandparents of his mother were Jews). He became an acting student in Vienna, Austria, and soon got a contract to play leading roles at the Reinhardt Theater. He came to America in 1939. After combining a variety of jobs with small roles in radio and in a play, he was drafted and served in the Army from 1943 to 1946.
After the war, he went to work to support his family still in Germany, but wrote two plays and continued to pursue a career in the theater. In 1951, eager to take some courses in English literature that might broaden his background in the language in which he had chosen to write, he entered Columbia University's School of General Studies. He received his B.A. and M.A., with an award for the best master's essay in English and comparative literature (he received his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1971).
He came to the Capital District in 1956 as an instructor of English at RPI and accepted a position in the English Department at Union in 1964. He retired in 1989. In his retirement years he became a familiar figure at Capital District farmer's markets, where he sold his own produce and baked goods.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia, of Hebron, N.Y.,
and his sister, Ilse, of New York City.
Mary E. “Betty” Wemple,
associate registrar at the
College for more than forty years, died September 6 at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady. She was eighty-two.
A native of Schenectady, she graduated from Russell Sage College in 1941 and joined the staff of the Registrar's Office at Union. At her retirement in 1985 she received the Alumni Council's Faculty Meritorious Service Award. She also was a volunteer at the Schenectady
County Public Library and the Schenectady Museum.
She is survived by her brother, Delmont, of Milford, Conn., a niece, a nephew, and several cousins.