Brent Malcolm Froberg, tall as a skyscraper, if skyscrapers sported dazzling bow ties, was known to all in CAMWS as the kindest, most generous, and most gentle of souls. Born in Baltimore, he spent his formative years in Valparaiso, Indiana, which influenced his choice of Indiana University for his undergraduate study. His mother was a Latin teacher who encouraged his interest in classics and Brent returned the favor as an adult by nourishing his mother’s study of Greek. He received both the B.A. and M.A. from IU and earned his Ph.D. at Ohio State in 1972. In the meantime, he taught for a year at the University of Tennessee then in 1970 he settled in at the University of South Dakota, where he would remain for 26 years, rising from instructor to associate professor. In 2001 he moved from the cold northern plains to the warmth of north central Texas, joining the illustrious faculty at Baylor as lecturer and then senior lecturer. His devotion to his students extended beyond the classroom to his erstwhile support of Eta Sigma Phi, which he served as Executive Secretary for nearly 20 years, all the while editing its journal, Nuntius. He served on the board of the Vergilian Society. The respect and affection in which he was held by CAMWS gained him an Ovatio in 1985.
Throughout his career Brent maintained cherished values and experiences from his schooldays: he played clarinet in his high-school band, and later joined the Indiana Marching Band, The Golden Age Band in Vermilion, and the Sioux City Summer Band. A champion of demonstrating knowledge in the pressure of competition, he competed in Academic Bowls as a student and as professor he managed College Bowl teams in South Dakota and Texas. As an undergraduate he was involved in the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and as a faculty member he sponsored a chapter at South Dakota. His students relished his easy way of communicating complex notions in both his language and mythology classes, while demanding the same clarity and grammatical precision in their work for him.
Brent Froberg died after an extended illness on June 8, 2020, in Waco, Texas.