Walter (Wally) Aufrecht

Professor Emeritus Walter (Wally) E. Aufrecht passed away on September 21, 2024. Wally made numerous contributions to the field of Near Eastern and biblical studies, especially in philology and epigraphy. Born in Illinois, he began his academic career completing an undergraduate degree at Illinois Wesleyan University (1964). His passion for Near Eastern studies and epigraphy truly emerged while completing an S.T.B. (1967) at Harvard Divinity School. There, he was mentored by Frank Moore Cross, a mentorship that evolved into a lifelong friendship. After his time at Harvard, he completed an MA at Boston University (1970) and a PhD at the University of Toronto in 1979, with his thesis “Surrogates for the Divine Names in the Palestinian Targums to Exodus”. He was Dean of Men at Victoria College at the University of Toronto from 1976-1981, where he got to know Northrop Frye and gained an appreciation for the importance of mentoring students. In 1981, he moved to Alberta, where he took up a position at the University of Lethbridge, which he held until his retirement in 2008.

Wally is survived by the many students who contribute to Near Eastern studies because of his support. Teaching was one of Wally’s greatest passions and his dedication to student training was unparalleled. He was committed to making sure that undergraduate students had the best possible learning experiences. He was particularly committed to teaching biblical Hebrew and making sure that ancient language courses were widely available to interested students of all backgrounds. Wally found it especially funny that as a member of the University of Lethbridge Geography Department, he managed to make ancient Hebrew a regular offering, a situation that continues to this day.

Sources:
https://www.ulethbridge.ca/notice/notices/condolence-notice-—-dr-walter-e-aufrecht
https://www.ulethbridge.ca/artsci/geography/memorium-walter-“wally”-e-aufrecht