John Marcellus Steadman III

John Marcellus Steadman, III, distinguished author and educator, died peacefully March 14, 2012 in Mobile, Alabama at age 93. Dr. Steadman was born on November 25, 1918 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, to John Marcellus and Medora Rice (Rembert) Steadman. He received undergraduate, graduate, and honorary degrees from Emory University, graduate and doctorate degrees from Princeton University, an honorary degree from St. Bonaventure University, and was an instructor at Georgia Institute of Technology, visiting distinguished professor at The City University of New York, and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and later the University of California where he retired in 2002. For over fifty years he conducted independent study and research in English literature, centering largely on Renaissance topics and specifically the poetry and thought of John Milton, as well as writing numerous books, poems, essays and reviews. He served as Senior Research Associate at The Henry E. Huntington Library in San Marino, California and was a longtime member of The Athenaeum at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California where he enjoyed many casual conversations, exchanges and spirited discussions with his fellow members, friends, and distinguished guests. He received numerous recognitions and awards for his research and publications including being named Honorary Scholar by the Milton Society of America, Proctor Fellow at Princeton University, and Fellow in English Literature by the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. He also served as Captain, U.S. Army Air Force in the Second World War during which he was assigned interrogation duties of German prisoners of war, and later served as Captain in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Dr. Steadman was preceded in death by his parents and sisters, Alice Steadman McMurphy and Alice Bunker Kany. He is survived by nephews, Dr. Marion B. (Malinda) McMurphy, Jr., Dr. John S. (Anna) McMurphy, Sr., Dr. Henry C. (Roxana) McMurphy, nieces, Alice McMurphy (Joseph) Jones, and Catherin McMurphy (Mark) Hieronymus all of Mobile, and niece, Alice Gaillard (Mark) Heinsohn of Chattanooga, Tennessee as well as other nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. The family would especially like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Steadman’s longtime friend and beloved caregiver, Mrs. Katie Sanders, for her years of devoted friendship and love, as well as the nurses and staff at Westminster Village Retirement Community for their extraordinary care and attention. A memorial service of remembrance and celebration will be held on Sunday, March 18, 2012 at 2:00 pm in the chapel at Spanish Fort Presbyterian Church in Spanish Fort, Alabama. Friends and family are invited to attend. The family suggests memorial donations be made to Wilmer Hall Children’s Home, 3811 Old Shell Road, Mobile, Alabama 36608, www.wilmerhall.org.