Comments on: In Memoriam: J. Robert Barth, SJ

By: Vickie Wodzak

Vickie Wodzak — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 17:22:51 +0000

Another appreciation of Fr. Barth. I was both an undergraduate and a graduate student at the University of Missouri-Columbia. In the fall of 1984, I was helping with student class registration accompanied by my then 1-year-old daughter and enduring the disbelief of colleagues that I was expecting another baby in a few monthsL: “There’s a cure for that condition, you know” Fr. Barth’s reaction: joy. I will miss him.

By: Diane Coffman

Diane Coffman — Mon, 22 May 2006 15:45:28 +0000

I just learned of Fr. Barth’s passing. I met him at the University of Missouri where I was an undergraduate and then a graduate student in English. I also attended the Newman Center where he was a pastor. Fr. Barth’s joy in life, encouragement, and spiritual guidance affected me profoundly. He baptized my daughter and helped me tremendously during that time of my life. We have kept in touch over the years with cards and notes at Christmas. I will miss him and am so grateful to have known him.

By: Roger V. Barth

Roger V. Barth — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 01:53:33 +0000

I am very gratified to read the comments about my late brother, Bob (J.Robert Barth,S.J.). It is healing for our family to know a little about some of the lives he touched during his teaching and ministry.

By: Susan Gage

Susan Gage — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 15:36:32 +0000

Like Mr. Atkinson, I, too, had Fr. Barth in an Introduction to Drama course at the University of Missouri-Columbia. I was a very quiet student. I rarely read aloud in the class. And then one day, I overcame my fear. We were going over a passage in “Equus” by Peter Shaffer. Fr. Barth read the part of the psychiatrist, and I quickly volunteered to read the part of Alan Strang’s overly-religious mother. The scene was about five minutes long and I remember that I had most of the lines. But doing it with Fr. Barth for some reason provided me the sense of safety I needed to really “perform” the reading. We finished the scene and he beamed at me. And after class, he took me aside and told me how remarkable my reading had been and encouraged me to pursue more theater, and volunteer in class more often.
Today, almost 20 years since I took that class with Fr. Barth, I am doing some acting in stage, radio and video. And I count him as one of the people who helped me to come out of my shell.
I am sorry that he has passed away. And I am grateful that he touched my life as a student at Mizzou.

By: James Atkinson

James Atkinson — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 00:24:15 +0000

Father Barth taught the very first college literature course I attended, at the University of Missouri in 1984. We were a sorry lot as a class, but everything about the man fascinated me. To this day I have the notebooks and papers I wrote for his course, and occasionally pull them out to re-read his commentary. Based partly on his solid launch, I went on to finish both a BA and an MA in literature.

I sat down twice last year to write him a thank you note, but allowed myself both times to become distracted with the kids and other mundane, forgettable malarky. Needless to say, I now sorely regret not having finished that letter.

James Atkinson
Asheville, NC

By: Vivian Berger

Vivian Berger — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 21:46:52 +0000

I just learned today that my old friend Bob (whom I knew was very ill and had last visited and spoken to last spring) had died. Though not surprised, I am devastated. We met when I was 19 — a “first year junior” at then-Radcliffe College, an advanced standing student way over my head in a graduate course in American Studies with Perry Miler, only in my second year of college. Without Bob Barth’s help, I would never have known what was going on! We became fast friends and remained so over the years. He was not only a great scholar but also a great human being. I will miss him immensely.

By: Nicholas Birns

Nicholas Birns — Sat, 28 Jan 2006 22:50:43 +0000

I was very sorry to read in PMLA’s In Memoriam section of Bob Barth’s passing. I only met him once , but he was kind, generous, and encouraging. His mode of speech and his bearing were also notably impressive. My condolences to his family and to his colleagues.

Nicholas Birns