One of Washington College’s most beloved and devoted former professors of history, Robert Fallaw, died at the Hospice Center of Queen Anne’s in Centreville, Md., on December 13, 2013, from complications of multiple myeloma. He was 78.
Born in Durham, N.C., on March 19, 1935, Walter Robert Fallaw, Jr. (known as Bob) was the older son of Walter Robert Fallaw, Sr., and Amy Wilson Childs Fallaw. He was raised mainly in the nearby community of Bragtown, moving while in high school to a small farm near Hillsborough. A 1953 graduate of Bragtown High School (where his mother taught), in 1957 he earned his B.A., with distinction in history, from Duke University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. (In recent years he was a charter resident member of the new chapter at Washington College.) Awarded a fellowship, he earned a M.A. (1959) and Ph.D. (1966) at Princeton University, focusing on early American history, especially political history of the Jacksonian period, and American intellectual history.
He started his teaching career in 1960, first as lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for History of Western Civilization freshman courses, then as assistant professor for American history courses as well. In 1970 he accepted a position as director of the American studies program (until 1988) and associate professor in the history department at Washington College in Chestertown, Md. A full professor since 1978, he served as department chair from 1988 to 2002; from 1998 to retirement in 2005, he was the first Everett E. Nuttle Professor of History.
Although, at one time or another, he served on virtually every college committee and had research interests and publications (including as co-editor of The Chesapeake Bay in the American Revolution), Prof. Fallaw’s primary focus was on his students. On and off campus, he was known as a scintillating lecturer and provocative discussion leader, and he always made time for students who came to his office for guidance and discussion on a wide range of topics.He was among the first Washington College participants in the Jessie Ball duPont Summer Seminars for Liberal Arts Faculty at the National Humanities Center in N.C., and (in 1998) was the first faculty member to participate in the exchange program with the Université d’Artois in Arras, France. He also served as adviser to the college’s chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order, even
eventually becoming an initiated member himself. On a lighter note, he was a member of the perhaps infamous faculty basketball team of the 1970s, was a master of sports history (especially baseball, in which he became interested as a Durham Bulls childhood fan), and could be a
shameless punster.
He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years (since June 27, 1964), Margaret Quoos Fallaw, and their four beloved sons: Stephen R., of Chestertown; Peter A., his spouse Brady Howe, and their children Joanie, Sophia, and Finn, of near Beaver Creek, Ore.; Michael L. and his spouse Jenna, of Bozeman, Mont.; and Timothy A. and his fiancée Kimberly Bundgus and her children Chloe, Maizy, and Stella, of Bozeman, Mont. His year-younger brother, Wallace Craft Fallaw, died in 1995 while a geology professor at Furman University; his widow Sarah Howle Fallaw and their sons Ben W. and James W. survive, as well as three grandchildren.
His cremated remains will be interred privately at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church’s churchyard near Chestertown. A celebration of his life will be held at 2 p.m., Sun., Jan. 19, at Hynson Lounge in Hodson Hall at Washington College. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Robert Fallaw Endowed Scholarship fund at Washington College, 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620.
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