Earl Roy Showerman

During the two years of chemo treatments for stage 4 cancer, Earl remained undaunted. He defied the odds and continued to live life to its fullest, in ever-present gratitude and commitment to his family and three main goals he set out to accomplish: publish his book, Shakespeare’s Greater Greek (2025), walk his granddaughter, Annabella, down the aisle, and dance one more time at his favorite jazz festival, the New Orleans Louisiana Jazz Fest. True to form, Earl successfully achieved all three - and more - including an audio and video recording of his life’s story.

Earl was not an ordinary person. He was iconic in its fullest meaning and gave his all in every aspect of life. The breadth and depth of his career and passion are extraordinary. For thirty years, he served as a dedicated Emergency Room (ER) physician with Providence Medford Medical Center. Earl was a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Michigan Medical School and served two years of Public Health Services as a Lieutenant Commander at the Crow/Northern Cheyenne Hospital in Crow Agency Montana. 

Among his many activities, Earl was an exceptional athlete, running marathons and finishing in the top 10% of the Ironman triathlon. He was a tireless woodsman and gardener, renowned for his glorious tomatoes and homemade apple pies. Earl’s love of life, poetry, storytelling - and experiences of people, places and cultures - took him to far corners of the world.  

After retiring from medical practice, Earl applied his brilliant intellect and diagnostic, sleuthing skills to the study of Greek dramatic sources in Shakespeare. For more than twenty years, he published copious articles, taught, attended and gave numerous conference presentations in the U.S. and abroad, all of which have become critical contributions to the corpus of Shakespeare scholarship. From 2022-2024, Earl served as President of the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship and was an associate of the Shakespearean Authorship Trust, a select international circle dedicated to discovering the true authorship of work attributed to William Shakespeare. These efforts culminated in his published volume, Shakespeare’s Greater Greek (2025), a formative contribution to the field’s growing renaissance. In contrast to Prospero, who famously “drowned his books” at the end of The Tempest, Earl, always generous and caring, bestowed his extensive, carefully curated library to current and future researchers and scholars.

Earl was a loving father, grandfather and husband. Core to the last thirty-three years of his life was his wife, partner and soulmate, Lee. Together, they nurtured a bond of mutual strength, profound respect, independence and immeasurable love. As countless individuals attest, he was devoted to and loved by his many friends, community and family. His unbridled exuberance and joyous embrace of life inspired each and all of whom he met. Earl will be deeply missed.  

He is predeceased by Sarah Foley, (mother) Glen Clair Showerman, (father) Frank Foley (stepfather), Sue Cheer, (sister) Bob Foley (brother), and Jonah (son). He is survived by Linda Lee (his wife), Jessica, (daughter), Annabella (granddaughter; Andrew Riechers), and Daphne (granddaughter), Larry Watts (brother-in-law; Gabriela), Gary Watts (brother-in law), Colin Cheer (nephew; Hillary), April Castoldi (niece: Ray Castoldi), nieces and grand nieces and nephews.

Deep gratitude and appreciation are extended to the Asante Cancer Center and, recently Hospice, who have been so conscientious and caring throughout these past two years.

Earl’s Poem to You dear reader:

ONE DAY by David Whyte

One day I will say the gift I once had has been taken.

The place I have made for myself belongs to another.

The words I have sung are being sung by the ones I would want.

Then I will be ready for that voice and the still silence in which it arrives.

And if my faith is good

then we’ll meet again on the road

and we’ll be thirsty,

and stop and laugh and drink together again

from the deep well of things as they are.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation on the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship page at https://shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org/ where the donation page will direct you to the Earl Showerman Fund for Oxfordian Education "Established in memory of Earl Showerman, a devoted Oxfordian scholar whose curiosity and generosity shaped a generation of authorship research."

Donations in memory of Earl can also be made through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute - OLLI at SOU donations page at giving.sou.edu/olli. In the comment section enter "in memory of Earl Showerman." 

A Celebration of Life event will be forthcoming next spring, date TBD. After the new year, please check this site at Rogue Valley Funeral Alternatives to hear about specific day and time of the celebration.   https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/medford-or/earl-showerman-12991274