James B. Carothers

** A Celebration of Life for James B. Carothers will be held at 3 p.m. on Thursday, October 24, 2024 at Plymouth Congregational Church in Lawrence. **

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James B. Carothers passed away on July 9, 2024, in Lawrence, KS.  Jim was born in St. Louis, MO on June 21, 1942, to Barrett and Eva Carothers.  After graduating from Southwest High School, he received a BA and MA from the University of Missouri.  He first met Beverly Wendel on a blind date while at Mizzou.  After marrying, they moved to Charlottesville, VA where Jim earned a PhD at the University of Virginia with a dissertation on William Faulkner’s short stories.

In 1970 they moved to Lawrence and Jim began his 46-year career at the University of Kansas as a professor of English.  Generations of Jayhawks remember Jim welcoming them to KU during Traditions Night, assisting them in the Help Room during enrollment, and congratulating them during hooding and graduation ceremonies.  The accolades he cherished the most concerned his teaching and advising, including the Chancellor’s Club Career Teaching Award.

Jim’s teaching focused on modern American fiction (from Faulkner, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald to American Humor), Shakespeare, and an array of Honors courses.  Two favorite courses which he developed included the “Literature of Baseball” and “Honors: Comedy and Humor”.  Beyond the classroom, he served twelve years in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences as Associate Dean, as well as in the Provost’s Office and the Honors Program.  Jim further served the university as President of Faculty four times, through myriad committees, and as a football statistician with a cadre of English professors for over 25 years.

Like his teaching, Jim’s research focused on Faulkner, Hemingway, and American Humor.  He first attended the University of Mississippi’s Faulkner Conference in 1979 and participated in each following year.  He was a founding editor of the Faulkner Journal and looked forward to leading the annual “Teaching Faulkner” sessions with his former KU student Theresa Towner.

Jim found creative ways to combine his interests on topics from Hemingway and baseball in Faulkner to the American Hero and even Dave Barry.  Jim lectured and gave papers from the University of Beijing to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, from Cooperstown to West Point, from Ronda, Spain to Stresa, Italy.  Following retirement, Jim continued his Faulkner research through the Digital Yoknapatawpha project enabling educators to introduce new readers to Mr. Faulkner and his Postage Stamp of Native Soil.

Jim’s love of baseball and humor were constants throughout his life.  He played first base and wore number 6 in honor of Cardinal Stan “The Man” Musial, introducing his wife to the game with a sunny double-header in St. Louis and teaching each family member to keep score.  Jim played many seasons of church league softball with the Plymouth “Rocks,” and for 50 years he played the tabletop baseball game “Ballpark” on Monday nights.  Always with a joke on hand, little Jimmy learned the power of humor in first grade when his teacher sent him to the principal’s office for wiggling his ears.  Instead of disciplining him, the principal laughed and asked “how do you DO that?”

Jim is survived by his wife of 63 years, Beverly; daughter, Cathleen; son, Michael (Karmel); grandson, Nicholas; granddaughter, Kelsey (Charlie) Bernard; and great-grandson, Bentley Bernard.  Perhaps his most enduring legacy to his family is the solace of a good story with the enduring philosophy of the Silly ol’ Bear, Winnie-the-Pooh.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to the KU Honors Program for study abroad (via KU Endowment or Warren-McElwain Mortuary).  A celebration of life will follow in the fall.