Professor Elizabeth Tusten Forter

FORTER, ELIZABETH TUSTEN, Professor emerita of English at Lawrence University

Professor Elizabeth Forter, of Appleton, died peacefully at home on Wednesday, November 28, 2007. She was born November 19, 1922 in Wichita, Kansas, the daughter of Cecil A. and Elizabeth (Tusten) Forter. Elizabeth received her B.A. with honors from the University of Wichita, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She taught English at the University of Wichita, the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and Lawrence, where she was the Edwards-Alexander Professor of English and where she served two terms as Chair of the English Department; she also directed the Lawrence London Centre in 1978-1979. As a scholar she was known for her critical editions of the work of the playwright Bernard Shaw.

In her thirty-five years at Lawrence, Elizabeth was known and loved for her enthusiasm, her good cheer, and her devotion to her students. She was also a model for many women professors there. Upon her retirement from Lawrence in 1988, President Richard Warch said of her, “your meticulous memory and sharp wit have illuminated for us all those rooms of the novel, especially Jane Austen’s and Virginia Woolf’s, which you have made your own – and the gardens as well, both real and imaginary, of poetry in the twentieth century.”

Elizabeth was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Cecil A. Forter. She is survived by her cousin Ann Houchin and family, by a wide circle of friends, colleagues, and godchildren, and by her students, with many of whom she remained in close and frequent contact. Special thanks are owed to Elizabeth’s caregivers, especially Jeanne Moore, who enabled her to enjoy her last years comfortably at home.

There will be no visitation. The memorial service will be held on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 2:00 pm at ALL SAINTS EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 100 N. Drew Street, Appleton, with the Rev. Patrick Twomey officiating. A reception will follow the service in the church parlor. In lieu of flowers, donations in Elizabeth’s memory may be made to Lawrence University.

WICHMANN FUNERAL HOME
537 N. Superior Street
Appleton, WI 54911
(920)739-1231