Rock Hill, SC – Bill Naufftus passed away on June 26, at the Wayne T. Patrick Hospice House following a fall and the complications of Parkinson’s. He was born in Port Jefferson Long Island, New York in 1944 to Franklin Alexander Naufftus and Daisy Bryson Naufftus. Bill was educated at The Stony Brook School prior to his admission to Union College where he received his undergraduate degree. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in English from the University of Virginia.
Following his graduation, he taught at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro where he met his wife of fifty-two years, Ruthann Pearce. He joined the faculty at Winthrop College (later Winthrop University) in 1978 and taught there until his retirement in 2016 as Professor Emeritus of English. During his years at Winthrop, he served in a number of administrative roles, taught courses in writing, in British and American poetry and fiction, in non-Western literature, and in drama and film. He received the university’s most prestigious award for excellence in teaching, the James Pinkney Kinard and Lee Wicker Kinard Award; and he was the inaugural recipient of the Margaret Bryant Endowed Professorship in English. Regionally, he was also recognized for his outstanding teaching by the South Atlantic Modern Language Association .
Bill was a gifted teacher, and he mentored uncountable students and new faculty. But he also possessed a brilliant mind that never stopped seeking new knowledge, sometimes in unfamiliar and perhaps often overlooked areas. Because he was enamored with history, he rarely paid much attention to popular culture and frequently found himself on the receiving end of gentle teasing for that lack. Regardless, former students, current and past colleagues, and his friends knew exactly whom to call when they needed the answer to the meaning or location of an obscure allusion or the name of a forgotten literary work.
These gifts notwithstanding, Bill will be most remembered for his kindness, his generosity of spirit, his character, and his steadfastness. He was truly a good man.
Bill is survived by his wife, Ruthann Naufftus; his sister, Marilyn Karlson; his niece, Mary Kathrine Bratton; his nephew, Billy; and by three close friends whom he considered family: Debbie Garrick, John Harbeck, and Gloria Jones.
Memorials in his honor may be made to the Gloria Godfrey Jones Emergency Fund for Students at the Winthrop Foundation (Fund # 1997). A service will be held at a later date.