Stanley John Damberger Stanley John Damberger died April 8,

Stanley John Damberger Stanley John Damberger died April 8, 2025 at 91 looking out at his Albuquerque garden (where he planted 25 fruit trees 28 years ago) while taking a few sips of a gin-and-tonic. A colleague from DePaul University Chicago said Stanley was a man who really knew how to live. Born in Milwaukee on July 8, 1933, he came with his family during World War II to Lemon Grove, CA. As the oldest of four children he was chosen to enter the Franciscan seminary at age 11. He left at age 21 having learned Greek and Latin and how to give fluent sermons in Spanish. At Loyola in Los Angeles, he studied philosophy, then pursued a PhD in Medieval and Renaissance English at St. Louis University. In St. Louis, he lived in the Institute of Social Order, served as secretary to a priest labor arbitrator, and learned to really cook from the caterer for Stix, Baer and Fuller. In 1962 he was hired as an instructor of English Literature at DePaul. Across 32 years of teaching at DePaul Stan became the professor one hopes to have teach them: knowing, encouraging, thoughtful, reflective, generous, guiding without directing, honorable, dependable, forward thinking, flexible, fun-loving, and a bit of an anarchist. Besides teaching Shakespeare, Milton, and literary criticism, he shepherded the DePaul Liberal Arts and Sciences Honors Program through its initial phases. He would remember colleagues' and students' areas of interest and shared articles with them. He developed welcoming programs, counseling hours, and picnics and parties for International students. He assembled a guide to scholarships before one was searchable on the internet. He designed innovative course pairings and team-taught courses including Shakespeare and Music and Perspectives of Reality. For years, he was the Master of Ceremony for the DePaul Graduation, the epitome of a professor in cap, gown, and belief. He retired Professor Emeritus in 1994, then receiving the Via Sapientiae (the Way of Wisdom) teaching award. He still receives letters from former students thanking him for being there for them then. Stan loved to entertain and cook, often using herbs, vegetables, and fruit just pulled from his garden. Dinners were joyous, often magical occasions savoring food, drink and talk. His cooking skills were legendary: he was asked to make a duck-filled pate for the Robert Shaw Chorale, dinner for the poet Stephen Spender, and 115 Cornish hens for an English Department party. He loved to travel. In the summer, he would travel to England or elsewhere in Europe, attending academic meetings and then travelling by train far and wide (saying he was able to do it because he did not own a car). He spent several summers in Brittany with his colleague, Ellin Kelly, studying the granite calvaries carved into the facades of churches across Brittany. In 1992, they mounted an exhibition at DePaul which included photographs of the calvaries, several still on display in the DePaul library. When Branaugh's English Shakespeare Company mounted a marathon of all eight of Shakespeare's history plays, Stan made sure DePaul students attended and lectured on the genealogy of the plays. After retiring and moving to Albuquerque "for its longer growing season", he continued to pursue his pleasures: reading, cooking, gardening, traveling, and attending symphony, theatre, opera and plays. His generosity to others only grew in these years. He edited papers and books his wife wrote. He attended meetings with her, seeking out restaurants and museums to visit in each locale and sharing his recommendations with friends. His local friends looked forward to his summer harvests of fruit and tomatoes, so plentiful that his garden was once showcased as the best in Albuquerque. Parties at our house or back yard continued to be not-to-be-missed memorable moments. Stanley was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph Damberger and Selma Behling, and his brother, Robert. He is survived by his wife, Madeleine Grigg-Damberger, sister Teresa Hoover, and brother Thomas Damberger. He will be buried in the Santa Fe Military Cemetery where he can listen to the Opera. A celebration of his life will be scheduled in Albuquerque in Fall. A memorial at DePaul is planned for October. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Damberger Endowed Scholarship, Division of Advancement, DePaul University, 1 E. Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604.