George Gibian

[Donna Orwin]

Dear Ms. Porte,

Please extend my condolences to George's family, and to his companion.
George was my undergraduate teacher at Cornell, and the advisor of my honor's
thesis there in 1969.  I have remained friendly with him over the years, and
I spent several pleasant days with him last fall at Iasnaia Poliana,
Tolstoy's ancestral estate.  He was his usual charming, witty and urbane
self.  He delivered a paper on Tolstoy studies in America, and I subsequently
posted this paper at the Tolstoy web site.  There will be another conference
at the estate next summer, and no doubt George would have attended.  If you
will send me a brief obituary by email, I will run it in this year's issue of
Tolstoy Studies Journal, due to come out in December.  Please include a list
of George's writings on Tolstoy.

Sincerely,

Donna Orwin, Editor
Tolstoy Studies Journal

Susanna Porte wrote:

> Dear SEELangers,
>
> It is with great sadness that I must inform you of the passing of George
> Gibian, Goldwin Smith Professor of Russian Literature at Cornell
> University, this past weekend.  Professor Gibian was a wonderful teacher,
> a prolific scholar, and a warm and kindhearted person.  He will be sorely
> missed.
>
> Susanna Porte