David Lee Minter

1935 - 2017  (82 years)

• Name	David Lee Minter
  Birth	20 Mar 1935	Texas, USA
  Gender	Male
  _UID	C0DEE545EC9C4ADC83ED9227581959970023
  Death	21 Aug 2017	Houston, Harris County, Texas, USA
  Notes	David is the author of books about American literature. He is/was married to Caroline and had two children Christopher and Frances. David is the twin of Judith. The following biographical note is copied from the website of the Rice University. The Fondren Library is the repository of the David Minter Academic Papers, 1868 - 1999. "David L. Minter, Bruce and Elizabeth Dunlevie Professor Emeritus of English at Rice University and one of the foremost scholars of 20th century American literature, was born in west Texas on March 20, 1935 to a Methodist minister father and a former schoolteacher mother. Orphaned in October 1948, he lived with older siblings, and as a young man worked as a cowhand on a ranch and later as a roughneck in the oil fields. Minter began his college work at the University of Houston in 1955, then transferred to the University of North Texas, where he majored in literature and philosophy. There he became friends with Larry McMurtry, and met Caroline Sewell, who became his wife. The Minters have two children, Christopher Sewell Minter and Frances Elizabeth Minter. After graduation he took a master's degree at UNT. In 1958 Minter and his wife moved to New Haven, where Minter studied Christianity and Culture at the Yale Divinity School. There he won a W.R. Coe Fellowship to pursue a doctorate in American Studies at Yale. After graduating in 1965, he served as a lecturer at Hamburg University in Germany for a year on a Fulbright Travel Fellowship, returning afterward to Yale to work as a lecturer in English and American Studies for a year. (Minter has also been a visiting professor at Columbia in New York and Washington University in St. Louis). In 1967 he returned to Houston to begin a career as an Assistant Professor of English at Rice University. Minter received a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship in 1969 and the George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching in 1974, 1976, and 1977. He also chaired the English Department at Rice from 1978-1980. Dr. Minter and his wife served as co-masters of Baker College from 1973-1979. In 1981 Dr. Minter took the position of Asa G. Candler Professor of American Literature at Emory University, where he remained until 1990. In 1990 he returned to Rice as the Libbie Shearn Moody Professor of English. At Rice he served as the University Librarian and Interim Vice-Provost from 1995-1996; in 1999 he served as Vice-Provost for the University. He was also named the Bruce and Elizabeth Dunlevie Professor of English in 1999, a chair endowed by one of his former students. In 2002 he retired from teaching at Rice. His books include "William Faulkner: His Life and Work" and "A Cultural History of the American Novel: Henry James to William Faulkner"." Obituary, copied from legacy.com David Lee Minter, 82, passed away Monday, August 21, 2017, at his home in Houston. Graveside services were held Tuesday, August 22, at Magnolia Cemetery in Woodville, Texas. David was born March 20, 1935, to Reverend Kenneth Cruse Minter and Frances Hennessy Minter in Midland, Texas. He grew up in Gonzales, Woodville, and Alice, Texas, graduating from Alice High School in 1953. He received a BA and MA in English from North Texas State College in Denton, followed by a Bachelor of Divinity and a PhD in American Studies from Yale University. David began his academic career as a lecturer at Yale and then at Hamburg University in Germany. In 1967 he joined the English Department at Rice University. From 1973-1979, he and his wife Caroline served as Masters of Baker College. In 1980 David was recruited by Emory University in Atlanta. During his tenure there, first as Dean of Emory College and later as Vice-President for Arts and Sciences, Emory changed from a quality regional school into a top-tier national academic institution. After returning to Rice in 1990, David served numerous roles in addition to his teaching American literature. The Minters were Masters of Jones College (1992-1997). He was appointed Interim Vice-Provost and University Librarian (1995-1996) and Interim Provost (1999-2000). In 1999 then Rice President Malcolm Gillis, in naming him Interim Provost, stated that David was both "a leading literary scholar" and a "truly outstanding teacher and mentor" and that his record of service to Rice was "one of the most distinguished and fruitful in the university's history." David's love of literature led him to become an eminent scholar of 20th century American literature and of William Faulkner. His several books included the definitive William Faulkner: His Life and Work. As well, his many teaching awards reflected his passion for teaching and his respect and regard for his students. His academic career spanned thirty-five years, after which he retired as the Bruce and Elizabeth Dunlevie Professor Emeritus of English. David was preceded in death by his parents; his twin sister, Judy Dunn; sisters Mary Frances Wright, Betty White, and Anna Froman; and brother, Kenneth C. Minter, Jr. He is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, Caroline Sewell Minter of Houston; son Christopher Minter of Dripping Springs; daughter Frances Epstein and husband Jeff of Tucson, AZ; grandsons Aiden and Seaton Epstein; and many loving nieces and nephews. David will be remembered as a devoted husband, father, and grandfather; as a dedicated teacher and mentor, as a thoughtful and influential scholar, as a keen and witty observer of life, and by all as a man whose many enthusiasms in life were endearing and inspiring. A memorial service is planned for October. To Plant Memorial Trees in memory, please visit our Sympathy Store. Published in Houston Chronicle from Sep. 4 to Sep. 6, 2017.
  Person ID	I5129	America
  Last Modified	12 Mar 2024

  
  

  Father	Kenneth Cruse Minter,   b. 6 Dec 1889, Woodville, Tyler County, Texas, USA d. 6 Oct 1948, Polk County, Texas, USA (Age 58 years)
  Mother	Frances Allen HENNESSY,   b. 23 Apr 1892, Hennessy, Texas, USA d. 6 Oct 1948, Polk County, Texas, USA (Age 56 years)
  Family ID	F2399	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Cynthia Caroline SEWELL
  Children	1. Christopher Sewell Minter   2. Frances Elizabeth Minter
  Family ID	F2403	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	1 May 2015

  
  

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  Birth - 20 Mar 1935 - Texas, USA  = Link to Google Earth