Eugene Robert August, PhD, age 84, passed away on Saturday, July 25, 2020. He was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara Ann August who died in 2002. Gene is survived by his two sons, Robert E. (Doane) August and James E. (Kathy) August; seven grandchildren: Diana M. August, Robert E. August, Jr., John B. August, David P. August, Zackary (Chelsea) Hart, Noah Hart and Ethan Hart; a brother, Henry (Pat) August, and a sister-in-law, Sandra Danko. Due to COVID-19 restrictions a private Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church. Burial will be in Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio.
Dr. August was a professor of English at the University of Dayton where he taught for over 30 years. His special area of literary studies was Victorian literature. He also branched out into World Literature in Translation, and later into Men's Studies. Dr. August served as the University's first Alumni Chair in Humanities from 1994-1997, was instrumental in establishing the University’s Study Abroad Program and was among the founders of the original Core Program, which integrates the humanities classes for first-year students. He is the author of two books: John Stuart Mill: A Mind at Large, and The New Men's Studies: A Selected and Annotated Interdisciplinary Bibliography, as well as numerous scholarly papers, articles and essays. Dr. August was instrumental in promoting the humanities and his students’ access to them, by organizing annual trips to see Shakespearean plays, sponsoring on-campus symposia, conferences, speakers and mini-courses, and by helping establish UD’s Study Abroad Program. A devout Catholic, Dr. August was passionate about integrating Christianity with his educational mission.
In his family life, as in his professional life, Gene constantly and consistently demonstrated a peaceful, faithful, thoughtful and deeply joyful demeanor, always willing to listen and help anyone that he encountered. Gene was always a gentleman and treated everyone he met as if they were the most important person in the world. He was quick to laugh in any situation and had a reputation for telling extremely corny jokes to everyone’s delight. The love, peace, joy and intellectual abilities that Gene blessed everyone with in his life were reflective of his deep faith and hope in the living God.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to: The University of Dayton, The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (DPAA), and/or Graceworks Lutheran Services (Bethany Village).
Online condolences may be directed to: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/funeral-homes/tobias.
To view Gene's funeral mass on Tuesday, August 11 @ 10:00a, or a recording of the service, go to: stalbertthegreat.net. At the bottom of the page is a banner to "Watch Mass Online". Click the play button over the word "StreamSpot". Lastly, click either "previous broadcast" or "broadcast schedule".
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