I come late to this remembrance page but, as one of Dr. Covey’s former students, not too late, because even after all these years I was thinking of him when I chanced upon this page. I thought he was a wonderful and inspiring professor. My father, Dr. Doyle Fosso (Professor of English), was a colleague of Dr. Covey’s and always spoke of him with great regard. In fact, on my father’s recommendation I enrolled in Dr. Covey’s class. What still brings a smile to my face and a chuckle was the size of the course reading list. I came from the book store with a stack of books that must have been two feet tall! Suetonius, Plutarch, Caesar, Thucydides. Classics of the Classical World. I smiled inwardly as other students reacted with dismay and disbelief. The next day after the reading list had been distributed- students disappeared, never to reappear in the classroom. Far from looking disappointed, Dr. Covey looked around approvingly at those of us who remained and commented that only “true scholars” were up to the challenge and he had expected as much. He seemed to regard this winnowing of the ranks as a necessary prelude to the commencement of a semester dedicated to the intellectual development of serious readers and thinkers. In conjunction with our reading assignments Dr. Covey asked up to write a “Reflection” about what we had read. Some students gaped in perplexity on hearing this but I knew exactly what he meant, and I threw myself into those thought exercises- reading, pondering and reacting to those timeless truths from Greek and Latin texts written more than two millennia ago. I still have all the books from the two courses I took with him- pages starred and underlined, the spines creased, well broken in and hand worn. Dr. Covey read every word I wrote. I know he read every word his students wrote. He took the time to write comments, to compliment and to challenge and to engage with us. He was such a memorable and great Professor. And his was a Beautiful Mind.

I only knew him briefly, but his research changed my life.  Thank goodness the world had Cyclone, he was a wonderful gift.

Nick and family - so sorry for your loss - I remember when you were in Wilkes county how much you adored your father.

"The span of our life is 70 years, or 80 if one is especially strong....Teach us how to count our days so that we may acquire a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:10,12)

I often saw Cyclone at the Columbus, GA, Institute for the Study of American Cultures (ISAC) conference.  Cyclone was a gentleman of the old school and a scholar of his own school, and many are those who will miss his genial personality, his interesting mind, and his willingness to take intellectual risks.  I am one.

Cyclone and I spent years with a wall between us: a physical barrier--cement blocks--not any sort of social or personal obstacle.  His office was next to mine on the basement level of the the B wing of Tribble Hall.  He was the best sort of neighbor.  Even during my first year at Wake when everyone has to work so hard, he was the one person I usually knew was also there, working away on one his manuscripts.  In the occasional exchanges we had I came to understand he was there because of his immense curiosity and his desire to figure something out, which we can only do by writing.  And to this inspirational professional example, he added kindness.  He was always nice to me, genuinely interested in what I was working on and how my life was going.  I remember one of my very first encounters with him.  He knocked on my door and asked me if I wanted to know the fastest way to the library.  Since there were two ways to get there and they both seemed about the same to me, I was struck by the fact that Cyclone had taken the time to figure out which of the two would save me a minute.  I have sometimes wondered how many minutes he wound up sparing me over the course of the 40 years I've been here.  Small things add up: 4 minutes a day, a few paragraphs every morning . . . kindnesses to the people around us.  So Cyclone gave me, among other things, time I wouldn't have had, and it saddens me to know that I never returned his gift.

Alan Williams
Department of History
Wake Forest University

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Dr. Cyclone Davis Covey

21 mai 1922 – 22 novembre 2013

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