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LEWIS MAGNUS LAYMAN
Date of Passing: Aug 15, 2009
Send Flowers to the Family Offer Condolences or MemoryLEWIS MAGNUS LAYMAN After a courageous battle with Parkinson's disease, Lewis M. Layman passed away on August 15, 2009 at the age of 73. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Annemarie Sommer Layman, daughter Julie Layman-Saretsky of Calgary, son Daniel Layman and his partner Maggie Buttrum of Ottawa, sister Frances Holland of North Easton, Massachusetts, and many devoted family members and friends. Born in New York City, Lewis received his BA. from Middlebury College in 1958, his M.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1961, and his Ph.D. in 1973 from the University of British Columbia. He began his career in the Department of English at the University of Manitoba in 1961. After an absence for doctoral studies from 1965 to 1969, he returned to a position as a professor and shared his passion for American Literature with his students and colleagues until 1998. His abiding love for writers like Faulkner and Whitman was balanced by his commitment to the writers of his adopted country and province. In addition, Lewis served for nine years as a trustee of the Seine River School Division No. 14. Following his retirement, he taught English as a Second Language for five years to recent immigrants privately and through the International Centre. Lewis will be long remembered for his wry chuckle; his commitment to his family and friends; his way with words, which could result at any moment in a quoted line of poetry or a shameless pun; and his lifelong passion for birds. Before retiring to Winnipeg, Lewis lived in St. Adolphe. As he used to put it, he lived on the Red River, and in the month of April he sometimes lived in it. Over the years living in St. Adolphe, Lew thoroughly enjoyed the wildlife he encountered and once estimated that he had counted over 300 species of birds. Great as was his delight in nature and literature, his delight in sharing those passions with others as teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend was equally strong. We remember Lew with the final words from his most beloved poem, Walt Whitman's Song of Myself : Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged, Missing me one place search another, I stop somewhere waiting for you. Cremation has taken place. A memorial will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of one's choice. Neil Bardal Inc. 204-949-2200 nbardal.mb.ca
As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Aug 22, 2009
Condolences & Memories (4 entries)
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Long after Professor Layman ("call me Lew") ceased to be my professor of American Literature we continued to meet for lunch every month or so, first at the U. of M. and then after he retired at Oscars Delicatessen in downtown Winnipeg. He was a dynamic human being. Lew gave me the lifelong gift of Faulkner and almost in the same breath wanted to talk about another passion that he and I shared, NFL football. He was a Vikings fan. I still keep a reminder on my monthly schedule to "call Professor Layman" for lunch. You are missed my friend. - Posted by: Jacob Giesbrecht (Former Student and Friend) on: Feb 01, 2016
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I studied English literature with Lewis Layman in the winter of 1964 in a class which met on Saturday mornings in the top floor of the old Arts building at the Fort Garry campus of the University of Manitoba. Lewis Layman was a wonderful teacher whose deep insights into literature and the human condition have stayed with me over the past fifty years. He was a very creative and soulful person who was one of the best teachers I had. I only discovered his death today as I picked up from files one of my essays that I write for him all those years ago and went to search his name on the internet. My belated condolences to his family and friends. - Posted by: Harold Chorney (Montréal a former student) (I was a student of Lewis Layman in an English literature class in 1964 ) on: Apr 09, 2014
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I just recently learned that Professor Layman passed away, and was saddened by this news. I had the privilege of taking a full year undergraduate level novel studies course with him that covered material from Dostoevsky's devastating Crime and Punishment to Faulkner's Light in August. Professor Layman always impressed me with his tremendous enthusiasm and the unpretentious expression of his knowledge. Towards the end of the course and after meeting with him numerous times in his office for casual chats about literature, poetry, life and, of course, numerous jokes. I had the pleasure of visiting him at his acreage along the Red River (when he wasn't living in it!) the spring after the course ended. We made tentative plans to meet again, but, unfortunately, I didn't see him for several years. The last time I spoke with him was at the book launch for George Toles' essay collection A House Made of Light at McNally Robinson in 2002. My lasting impression of him will be his somewhat awkward, always endearing, often entertaining, presence in front of the class. Thank-you Lewis Layman for revealing the nuanced depths of Dostoevsky to me. That is a connection that is firmly set in my mind and imagination. - Posted by: Matt Hildebrand (former student) on: Dec 21, 2013
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I'm an academic who recently cited an essay by Lewis in a piece which will (I hope) be published soon. I was impressed by the sensitive reading and deep scholarship of the piece, so I decided to look him up online. I was sorry to learn that he had already passed; I hope it's in some way heartening to know that his work lives on. - Posted by: Anonymous (Scholiast) on: Dec 22, 2012