John Riley Durbin

ustin - John Riley Durbin of Austin, Texas died peacefully at his home on August 9, 2021 at the age of 85. John was born on November 18, 1935, in Elk City, Kansas. His father, Brice, was superintendent of schools in Burns, a small farm and ranch town on the western edge of the Flint Hills. His mother, Verna, was an embodiment of the Protestant work ethic and values. John spoke often of the exceptional character and unquestioning love of his parents.

In 1945, the family moved to North Kansas City, Missouri, and in 1951 to Columbus, Kansas, where John graduated from high school in 1953. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Wichita, and a PhD in 1964 from the University of Kansas.

At the University of Wichita, John met Jane Burnett Clemmons, a flute student in the music school. They married on May 30, 1958, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. They were happily married for 63 years.

John received an R.O.T.C. commission in the U.S. Army artillery and they moved to Fort Sill Oklahoma for basic training, where he attained the rank of first lieutenant in the Army reserve.

John was professor of mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin from 1964 until his retirement in 2008, while Jane had a 29-year career as flutist with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. In 1966, John received a grant for a leave at King's College, Cambridge, which led to a life-long love of England and frequent summer stays in London. The pleasure he took in a well-planned journey on the Underground, or through the galleries of his favorite museums, was contagious. In 1987 John and Jane began ballroom dancing, providing another excuse to return to England for dance lessons and to compete in the Blackpool international dance competition.

John authored six textbooks in mathematics. The first, Mathematics: Its Spirit and Evolution was written to explain the world of serious mathematics to students outside the field. Group Theory, the study of abstract symmetry, was the focus of his research. At the university John most enjoyed his association with students and with colleagues from across campus. He was for many years a member of the UT faculty senate and university council, chairing committees on topics such as grade inflation and sexual harassment. He served two terms as chair of the Faculty Senate and for a half-dozen years as Secretary of the General Faculty. In September of 2003 he received the University's Civitatis Award, given in recognition of dedicated and meritorious service to the University above and beyond the regular expectations of teaching, research, and writing.

John was an enthusiastic and long-time attendee at Longhorn basketball games. He enjoyed Friday afternoon British Studies seminars - weekly lectures and discussions in English literature, history, and government. For many years he was a breakfast regular at Holiday House, an Austin institution where he would engage in a mid-meal, bipartisan, cross-booth exchange of his New York Times for his friend's Wall Street Journal. He could often be seen walking the beautiful streets of Tarrytown. Books were a lifelong passion for John, his focus changing with the phases of his life, from philosophy to economics to history.

In 2017 John was diagnosed with Posterior Cortical Atrophy, a variant of Alzheimer's that first affects vision. John began listening to music and audio books, especially U.S. and early 20th century world history, spending hours on his outdoor deck, frequently commenting on the good company of the birds, squirrels, and neighborhood cats. Even when John's memory began to fail him, his well-timed wit never left him.

John shared with Jane a love of music that was deep and broad, taking equal pleasure in jazz pianist Marian McPartland, everything by Mozart, and Mahler symphonies. He and Jane were regulars at the Sunday Choral Compline service at St. David's Church, and concerts at Bates Recital Hall.

John is survived by his wife, Jane, sons David and Paul, and five nephews. His youngest son, Peter John Durbin, died in an accident in 1988. All three attended the University of Texas. John is preceded in death by his sister Betty Durbin Grimwood and his brother Brice Blaine Durbin.

Donations can be made in John's memory to the Andrew G. Israel, MD Memorial Alzheimer's Research Fund, to support Alzheimer's Disease research with Posterior Cortical Atrophy research as a priority - https://go.ucsd.edu/34x1zhh