In Memoriam

Rolf H. Dumke

Rolf Dumke died of a heart attack on February 29, 2020. He matriculated with the Class of 1964, then graduated in 1965 after a year off, but subsequently re-affiliated with the Class of 1964. His death was reported by his son Tristan to Morris Dean '64.

You can read here an essay by Rolf on the occasion of his rejoining the Class of 1964 in 2018.

Below is a remembrance of Rolf by Mo Dean, published on his blog Moristotle & Co.

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In Remembrance of Rolf Dumke

In gratitude for “Growing Up in America”

by Mo Dean ‘64

March 2, 2020

I learned yesterday from Rolf Dumke’s son Tristan that his father had passed away the day before. Rolf suffered cardiac arrest at home the preceding Tuesday and was immediately taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital, where doctors fought for his life for four days, to no avail.

Here is a remembrance of Rolf, now posted in the Emeritus section of Moristotle & Co.

Rolf Dumke (1941-2020) was a columnist from late 2014 until his death. His column “Growing Up in America” continues to enrich Americans about their own country, which Rolf saw with eager new eyes after his family immigrated from Germany in the early 1950s. He was an economic historian whose life-long, wide-ranging interests in the arts and sciences were inspired by Yale College courses, which provided him a smorgasbord of great ideas. He taught in Canadian and German universities, and lived the last years of his life in Bavaria, near the Alps.

Let’s take a few minutes today to remember Rolf by reading and enjoying one of his “Growing Up in America” columns. I recommend his January 2, 2016 column on “Cultural assimilation in Cleveland.”