Doswald, Herman K.

Herman K. Doswald, 85, of Blacksburg, Virginia, passed away on Monday, January 8, 2018. He was born in Oakland, California, on March 24, 1932, received his B.A. in German, from the University of California at Berkeley with Honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in German language and literature from the University of Washington in Seattle, where he met and married his wife Ruth. Prior to receiving his B.A., he studied at the University of Munich on an Adenauer Scholarship from 1953-54. He studied at the University of Vienna on a Fulbright Fellowship from 1958-59. From 1962-64 he was on active duty as an Infantry officer in Worms, Germany.

After seventeen years of service at Virginia Tech, Herman retired in 1996 as Professor of German and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Emeritus. His earlier career in academe included temporary appointments at Oberlin College, the University of Washington, and Seattle University. He taught at the University of Kansas as an Assistant Professor and held tenured positions at the California State University at Fresno, Kent State University, and Virginia Tech. At Kansas he served as an Assistant Head of the Department of Germanic Languages. At Kent State he was Head of the Department of German and Russian, and at Virginia Tech he was Head of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Herman was preceded in death by his parents, Herman and Caroline, and five brothers and four sisters. He is survived by his wife, Ruth, and two daughters, Caroline and husband, Sanjaya Wijesinghe, and their sons, Joshua and Noah, and Stephanie and husband Dan Sebolt of Salem, Virginia, and their twin sons, Alex and Max, and son Nicholas. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews and many friends and colleagues.

He was a loving and caring husband, father, and grandfather.

After his retirement, Herman continued to teach German on occasion to three to nine year olds at the New Vista Montessori School in Roanoke, Virginia, and to teenagers at the Community High School in Roanoke.

He and his wife, Ruth, also traveled extensively in Europe, Hawaii, Alaska, and the Caribbean.

Per Dr. Doswald’s requests, no funeral will be held. The family will receive friends Saturday, January 13, from 2-4:00 pm at McCoy Funeral Home, Blacksburg.