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August, 23, 2010
Dear Friends of
the Clements
Center:
As
many of you
surely know by
now, David Weber
died last
Friday, August
20, in the
company of his
family, in
Gallup, New
Mexico. He was
69 and had been
battling
multiple myeloma
for nearly three
years, with the
courage and
fortitude that
were so
characteristic
of how he lived.
David was one of
the leading
scholars of the
U.S. Southwest,
the Spanish and
Mexican
Borderlands,
Mexico, and
colonial Latin
America. He was
known widely,
far beyond this
country, for his
scholarship,
published in the
more than
seventy articles
and twenty-seven
books that he
wrote or
edited. He
played leading
roles in
revitalizing the
study of the
U.S.-Mexico
borderlands, in
the emergence of
Mexican-American
history as a
robust field,
and in the study
of the colonial
Americas more
broadly. David,
as you know, was
the founding
director of the
Clements
Center. He took
tremendous pride
in the Center’s
accomplishments
and increasingly
high profile and
was particularly
devoted to the
former Center
fellows.
David came to
SMU in 1976.
For the next
thirty-four
years he taught
thousands of SMU
undergraduates
and mentored
numerous
students in our
history PhD and
MA programs.
The importance
of his work was
recognized in
multiple book
prizes; by the
governments of
Spain and
Mexico, each of
which gave him
the highest
honor that they
bestow on
foreigners; by
his induction
into the
American Academy
of Arts and
Sciences; by
other awards and
honors to
numerous to list
here; and by the
enormous regard
in which he was
held by so many
in the
profession.
Like countless
others, Sherry
Smith, Andrea
Boardman, Ruth
Ann Elmore and I
mourn the loss
of the person,
not just the
scholar. We
will remember
not only the
books and the
articles, but
his smiles, the
warmth in his
eyes, his easy
sense of humor,
and his
largeness of
spirit. He was
as generous and
warm a soul as
I’ve ever
known. We are
grateful to have
had him as a
friend and
colleague.
David is
survived by his
wife, Carol
Bryant Weber of
Dallas; son and
daughter-in-law, Scott
David Weber and
Catherine D.
Weber of Dallas;
daughter, Amy
Weber del Rio of
Colorado
Springs,
Colorado; and
grandchildren,
Sarah Margaret
Weber, 19, and
Dickson Scott
Weber, 14, both
of Dallas, and
Amaya Eloise del
Rio, 10, of
Colorado
Springs. He also
is survived by
siblings, Judith
Weber Anderson
and husband,
Andy, of Miami
Springs,
Florida; Donald
Weber and wife,
Giovanna, of
Plymouth,
Massachusetts;
and Daniel Weber
of Laos.
As per the
family’s
request,
memorial
contributions
can be sent to
the
David J. Weber
Memorial Fund
or the
Multiple Myeloma
Research
Foundation.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Johnson
Interim
Director,
Clements Center
for Southwest
Studies
Associate Professor
of History
P.O. Box 750176
Dallas, TX 75275
214/768-2709
bjohnson@smu.edu
www.smu.edu/swcenter
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