Obituary of Robert Bruce Lloyd, Sr.

Robert B. Lloyd, long-time resident of 9 Riverview Place, Lynchburg, Virginia died 19 June 2020 at The Summit Health and Rehabilitation Center in Lynchburg. He was born in Toledo, Ohio 10 July 1926, the son of Marshall Wesley Lloyd and Rachael Marie Navarre. His wife Angela Davies Pardington died in 1987. Professor Lloyd was educated at Oberlin College, B. A. (Phi Beta Kappa), and The Johns Hopkins University, M. A. and Ph. D.; he came to Lynchburg in 1958 to assume the chairmanship of the Department of Latin (later Classics) at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (RMWC), having previously taught at Oberlin College in Ohio and Cornell College in Iowa

Before his retirement in 1992, he served RMWC for 34 years in various ranks. He was in the first group of those chosen to hold Dana Professorships and later became the initial occupant of the Mary Frances Williams Chair in the Humanities, the College’s first fully endowed professorship and held this emeritus status at the time of his death. He was also a recipient of the Gillie A. Larew award for distinguished teaching.

Professor Lloyd was awarded many scholarships and fellowships over the years, first in support of his education, and later to underwrite research, travel and further studies. Among these awards were: a Fulbright research fellowship in Italy; two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities for summer seminars at The American Academy in Rome; and grants from the Ford Foundation and RMWC for summer study at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and travel in Italy and Sicily.

His articles and reviews have appeared in such periodicals as The American Journal of Philology, The American Journal of Archaeology, Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Encyclopedia Britannica and Enciclopedia Virgiliana (Italy). He was charter reviewer for Choice, a publication of the American Library Association, which published his reviews for over 25 years.

Professor Lloyd was a member of a number of professional organizations, among them: The American Philological Association; Archaeological Institute of America, serving the Lynchburg Society at various times as secretary president; Classical Association of the Middlewest and South; Classical Association of Virginia in which he held various posts including the presidency; and Vergilian Society of America. The last he served as Trustee; was several occasions a director of their summer programs at the Villa Vergiliana at Cuma (near Naples) and in Rome; and for a time was editor of their publication Vergilius.

In addition to his teaching duties at RMWC he served, often as chairman, on most of the College’s standing committees as well as those of special purpose, e.g., Dean and Presidential Search, and held offices in the local chapters Phi Beta Kappa and American Association of University Professors. He also was elected Faculty Representative to the Board of Trustees. Among ancillary activities were giving courses in the College’s summer programs in Rome and Florence and teaching advanced placement Latin at Seven Hills School in Lynchburg.  He was active for many years in L’Alliance Francaise de Lynchburg and was honored with life membership on its Board of Trustees.

He is survived by his son, Robert B. Lloyd, Jr. and his wife Lisa Anderson-Lloyd and their children Mary Lloyd (Sarah K. Allen) and Wesley Lloyd (Kathleen (Seely) Lloyd); by his son Marshall D. Lloyd and his wife Lucia (Kendall) Lloyd and their children Kendall Lloyd and Mary Lloyd; by his son John Lloyd and his daughter Angela Travis; and by his daughter Celia Lloyd. He is survived by 4 great-grandchildren, Kyle Lloyd, Elise Lloyd, Sawyer Lloyd and Miles Lloyd.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, July 18, 2020 at Diuguid funeral Service & Crematory Wiggington Rd. Chapel, with the Rev. Dennis Roberts, officiating. Visitation for family and friends will be from 9:30 until the time of service. Burial to follow in the Spring Hill Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers one might want to consider a contribution to the scholarship fund created in his name by former students on the occasion of his retirement from RMWC, now known as Randolph College. 

Funeral Services are tentatively planned for July 18, 2020 and will be announced as soon as the details are finalized.