Dr. John McDermott, professor emeritus of English, passed away June 15. He was 89.

A specialist in early English studies, McDermott — known by friends and colleagues as “Jack” — was an expert on English author Geoffrey Chaucer and global literatures. He taught courses in literature and composition at Fresno State from 1969 to 1996, and he served on the Arts and Humanities Advisory Board from 2005 to 2009.

According to Dr. Lisa Weston, professor of English and former department chair, McDermott served as a mentor and role model to many incoming faculty. He offered inquisitive feedback on their research, and more significantly became a go-to adviser on pedagogy.

“Jack was a trusted and valued guide for younger colleagues,” Weston said, “providing us with institutional memory and the mental maps we needed to plot our way through the landscape of University politics.”

McDermott was born in 1933 in Buffalo, New York. He grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; and Hayward, California. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, a master’s degree in contemporary literature from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in English literature from UCLA.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Trude McDermott; daughter, Elizabeth, and her spouse, Michael Golob; son, John Jr.; and son, James, and his spouse, Nicholas Andrade. Memorial services will be private. Arrangements will be made by the Neptune Society of Central California.

To read a full remembrance story about McDermott, visit the College of Arts and Humanities blog.