Gale "Tex" S. Vathing

gale
Tex Vathing passed away on April 19th, 2022. He was born in Houston, Minnesota in 1938 and he was a proud graduate of Luther College. Until his retirement, Tex was a Professor of English at the Alexandria campus of Northern Virginia Community College and prior to that at New Mexico State University and University of Maryland, where he taught in the international division, giving him the opportunity to travel the world. His wide and deep reading experience as well as his empathy for his students made his renowned World Literature classes among the first to fill each semester. He had a lifelong interest in other languages and in his later years was actively translating works in a number of them. Tex is survived by his beloved wife, Sandra Barnett, his colleagues and friends from NVCC, and countless past students who loved his classes and accompanied him on study tours to England, China, Russia, Norway, Greece and Turkey, Cuba and the American West.

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  1. Tex instilled a love of literature in me 30+ years ago at NVCC, and jumpstarted my love affair with Russian literature. I now point out to my own students the different translations of Zhivago and why one is better than the other!! My condolences to his family and friends. David Beach

  2. Mr. Vathing. I had him for an English class at NOVA. He was awesome, and allowed students to speak freely. He was very kind to his students, and connected well with them. May he rest in peace.

  3. Tex and I have been lifelong friends. We met in first grade and were together for 12 years of school in Houston, MN. The nickname Tex did not come to him until nearly high school. In elementary school Tex was already a voracious reader. In his home he had a closet full of comic books. Many boys, not just from our grade but from nearby grades as well came to trade “comics” from his mammoth collection. Then one day the closet was empty. Tex had become interested in literature and abandoned comics. In high school he achieved in sports -basketball, football, baseball and track. He excelled at anything he decided to pursue. At the same time he was a good student and especially enjoyed literature. We stayed in contact throughout our lives. His interest in languages led him to translate and publish original works from Norwegian, Russian, French and Persian. Just this past year he was translating from Hebrew and Aramaic. His mind has always been sharp even though his body gave out.

  4. Tex was one of two roommates our junior and senior years at Luther. His first two years, while interested in literature, he was still quite interested in sports, but boy did he take off on the literature topic those last two years to the point that in his senior year he became somewhat of a teaching assistant in the English Department. We lost track of one another for decades but a few years ago met for lunch while I was in the McLean area. It was a good reunion. We shared many good memoires. His was a very productive, honorable life. It goes without saying that he’ll be missed but many of us are very grateful for having our lifelines cross with his.

  5. I just leaned of his passing. “Tex” spearheaded summer study group trips to different Countries. I was fortunate to join one trip to China in 1989 and another to England a few years later. “Tex” had an unmistakable charm and charisma, and his laugh was infectious. He was also a dedicated professor and guide.


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