Message on Hugh Blanton Easler
Provost Michael R. Halleran sent the following message to the campus community on July 12, 2017 - Ed.
Dear Colleagues,
I write to share the new that Hugh Blanton Easler, Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, died Saturday, July 8, 2017, following a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Born and raised in Spartanburg, S.C., Professor Easler resided in Williamsburg, Va., for the past 55 years. After graduating from Spartanburg High School in 1944, he served in the U.S. Army in Germany during the Korean War. After returning to the U.S., he attended Wofford College, graduating magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1956 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and a minor in Physics. Professor Easler was then invited to teach as an instructor of mathematics and physics at Limestone College, Gaffney S.C. He then went on to complete his graduate work in mathematics at the University of South Carolina at Columbia, S.C. After graduate school, he served as an assistant professor of mathematics at Furman University, Greenville, S.C.
He joined the faculty of William & Mary in 1962, where his specialties were Number Theory and Abstract Algebra, and remained at the College for 35 years. Professor Easler was very active during his time at W&M, where he served as treasurer of the Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, assisted with the recruitment of football players for the William & Mary Tribe Football Program, authored and edited numerous chapters for mathematics textbooks and was a member of the American Mathematical Society. He retired in 1997, and was honored as an Honorary Alumnus of the College.
He believed in community service and was an active member of the Williamsburg Lions Club, where he served as treasurer and chaplain for many years. He was also a very talented floral designer. Invited by the Williamsburg Garden Club to decorate the entrance halls of several homes in Colonial Williamsburg during the Christmas Homes Tours and during Historic Garden Week, he was awarded blue ribbons for his designs. He was a man of great faith; and served as a ruling elder and clerk of the session for Williamsburg Presbyterian Church.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Martha Stribling Easler of Williamsburg, Va.; daughter, Susan Easler Miller, and her husband, Michael of Ashburn, Va.; brother-in-law, John Oliver Moore, and sister-in-law, Jacqueline Easler, both of Spartanburg, S.C.; and many nieces, nephews and close friends.
The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, July 14, at Nelsen Funeral Home, 3785 Strawberry Plains Road, Williamsburg. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 15, followed by a reception in Stevenson Hall at Williamsburg Presbyterian Church, 215 Richmond Road, Williamsburg, with the Rev. Harold McKeithen Jr. officiating. A private burial will be held in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Williamsburg. Friends may make memorial contributions to the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church, 215 Richmond Road, Williamsburg, VA 23185; or the Alzheimer’s Association.
Sincerely,
Michael
