Gilbert Lawall

Gilbert Lawall, 88, died peacefully at home on August 7, 2025. The youngest son of Edith Lawall and Russell Lawall, Gilbert was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1936, grew up in Ferndale, Michigan and Oberlin, Ohio, and attended Oberlin College. At Oberlin, he met his future wife Sally, with whom he was married for 61 years. He graduated in 1957 with a degree in Classics, and went on to earn his PhD in Classics from Yale University in 1961.

Following graduation from Yale, Dr. Lawall taught at Yale University and was a Fellow of the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington D.C. in 1963 and 1964. His book, Theocritus’ Coan Pastorals, was published by the Center and distributed by Harvard University Press. In 1965, he moved to Amherst, Massachusetts with Sally and his young children John and Peter. Dr. Lawall served on the faculty of Amherst College and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he taught until retiring in 2001. He founded the UMass Department of Classics in 1971 and helped to establish a Master of Arts in Teaching Program in Latin and Classical Humanities. In addition, he served as President of the American Classical League, Secretary-Treasurer of the Classical Association of New England, Chairman of the American Philological Association’s Editorial Board for Textbooks, and on the Board of Directors of the American Philological Association. He gave talks at conferences and universities throughout the United States, published numerous scholarly articles, and founded and co-edited the New England Classical Newsletter. He received awards for distinguished service from the Classical Association of New England, the Classical Association of the Empire State, the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association, and the American Classical League.

Professor Lawall was deeply committed to instruction of the Classics, enthusiastically working to revive the teaching of Latin in high schools. He was Chief Revision Editor for the popular Ecce Romani Latin program, co-authoring many new editions tailoring the program for American schools. He also assisted Maurice Balme to revise the Athenaze books for the study of ancient Greek, and produced newsletters for both Ecce Romani and Athenaze. He was editor of the Longman Latin Reader series and co-edited and co-authored various Greek and Latin readers. He conducted classes at his home for the development of high school Latin teachers, and was the recipient of an Outstanding Teacher Award from the UMass College of Humanities and Fine Arts in 2000.

Gil’s travels spanned three continents. At the age of 14, he toured Europe for eight weeks with his brother David and sister Martha, traveling by bicycle and staying in youth hostels. His graduate study included a year in Rome. In subsequent years, he toured France, Italy and the United Kingdom, enthusiastically introducing the family to Roman ruins and art museums. He and his family spent two summers at the Aegean Institute in Greece, where he taught ceramics and studied modern Greek. He and Sally celebrated their 20th anniversary in Iceland, explored pyramids in Mexico, and in the summer of 1987 studied German with the “Deutsch in Graz” program in Graz, Austria. They visited their son John in Mali, West Africa, when he was a volunteer in the Peace Corps, and in Sicily and Rome while John was doing postdoctoral work in Europe.

Over the course of his life, Gilbert had a keen interest in the fine arts. He shared his mother’s interest in sketching and oil painting, and took ceramics classes in high school. He later built a complete potting studio in his basement and experimented with custom glazes and homemade sawdust kilns. He filled the house with exotic pots of his own making, and went on to teach his children and grandchildren to use the potting wheel.

Gilbert was a strong supporter of conservation and wildlife preservation, as well as a passionate advocate for human rights, participating in the Amherst Peace Vigil during the Vietnam war and supporting many worthy causes. Gilbert had a strong sense of justice and rightness, and worked to help those in need.

Gilbert moved to Andover, New Hampshire in 2021, where he lived with his son, Peter, and daughter-in-law, Jeannine. He is survived by his sons, John and Peter, five grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, his sister-in-law, Willa Lawall, his niece, Julia Lawall, and three nephews, Mark Lawall, Kevin Warnock, and Andrew Warnock. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Sally Lawall, his brother, David Lawall, and his sister, Martha Warnock.

ARRANGEMENTS: No public services will be announced at this time. Assisting the family with arrangements is the Cremation Society of NH, Boscawen. To view Gilbert's Online Tribute, send condolences to the family, or for more information, visit https://csnh.com.