Edward J. Dudley, UB professor, department head
July 18, 1926 — July 21, 2008
Edward J. Dudley, Ph. D., a longtime professor and chairman of the department of modern languages and literatures at the University at Buffalo, died from the effects of Parkinson’s disease July 21 in Sanford University of South Dakota Medical Center, Sioux Falls. He was 82.
Born in St. Paul, Minn., in 1926, Dr. Dudley joined the Navy at 17 and served in the final years of World War II.
After the war, he returned to the University of Minnesota on the GI Bill and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English literature.
He traveled extensively in Europe and South America during the early 1950s, working as an English language professor, before teaching Spanish at St. John’s University in Minnesota and earning his doctorate in Spanish literature in 1963.
In 1959, he married Patricia Hayes, a concert pianist.
Dr. Dudley, a scholar on the works of Miguel de Cervantes, taught Spanish and comparative literature at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Pittsburgh before coming to UB in 1974.
At UB, Dr. Dudley served as chairman of the department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese and then the department of modern languages and literatures.
He stepped down in 1983 to return to the classroom. He also was the director of the Council on International Studies from 1981 to 1983.
Dr. Dudley retired from teaching in 1999 but continued to publish articles and mentor graduate students until the effects of Parkinson’s disease limited his ability to write and study.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia, and two sons, John and David.
A memorial service will be Aug. 9 in Holy Spirit Church, St. Paul.
