TED LARRY PEBWORTH died on March 1, 2021 at Saint Anna's of Lambeth House in New Orleans, aged 84. The only child of Harry A. Pebworth and Ernie Chandler Pebworth of Homer, LA, he was educated in the public schools of Claiborne Parish and subsequently earned a B.A. from Centenary College of Louisiana, an M.A. from Tulane University, and a Ph.D. from Louisiana State University. At LSU, in 1963, he formed a romantic relationship with Claude Summers, with whom he would collaborate on numerous scholarly books and projects, and which would endure for the rest of his life.
After serving as an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Illinois, Chicago, he spent most of the rest of his academic career at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where he rose to full Professor in 1976. In 1989, he was appointed the William E. Stirton Professor in Humanities, the highest faculty honor on the Dearborn campus.
He published widely on seventeenth-century English literature and on textual theory. With Summers, he established the Dearborn campus as a center of Renaissance and seventeenth-century English studies, especially through their biennial Renaissance conferences, which from 1974 until 2000 attracted leading scholars in the field. The series yielded thirteen major collections of essays. In addition, Pebworth was a founding member and senior textual editor of The Variorum Edition of the Poems of John Donne, one of the most significant scholarly collaborations of the twentieth century. His honors include the University of Michigan-Dearborn's Outstanding Research Award, the John Donne Society's Distinguished Publication Award, and the Michigan Association of Governing Boards of State Universities' Distinguished Faculty Award.
In 1998, Pebworth and Summers bought a condominium in the French Quarter, assuming that they would split their time in retirement between Michigan and Louisiana. However, they soon decided that they wanted to spend all their time in New Orleans, so in 2001, they bought a house and became full-time residents of the Vieux Carré. Ted especially enjoyed New Orleans cultural institutions such as the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Le Petit Theatre, New Orleans Gay Men's Chorus, the Steamboat Club, and the Armeinius and Petronius Mardi Gras Krewes.
In June 2013, on the fiftieth anniversary of their relationship, Pebworth and Summers were married in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Ted will be remembered for his enduring scholarly contributions, his quick wit, his kindness, his passion for social justice, and his generosity.
He is survived by his spouse, Claude Summers; a niece, Sue Mire of Jonesville, LA; two nephews, Greg Summers (Aimee) and Kyle Summers (Leslie) of Baton Rouge; three grandnephews, Shane Castell and Titus Mire of Jonesville, LA and Ian Summers of Seattle, WA; and a grandniece, Ashton Summers Cooper (Ryan) of San Diego, CA; and many dear friends.
Given the Covid-19 pandemic, there will be no funeral. A celebration of Ted's life will be held when conditions permit.
In lieu of flowers, donations to such organizations as Lambda Legal, the Human Rights Campaign, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Louisiana SPCA would be appreciated.
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