There was a lovely farewell this afternoon over in Duncan Hall for the Pfeiffers. Paul, of course, has been at Rice for a while. He arrived on campus in 1934 and seemed to like it here. In any event, he stayed for a couple of years of graduate school and then came back to teach in 1947. I could write a very long post about him but it’s probably more sensible to direct you to the fine piece written by my friend Patrick Kurp for this occasion. I would only add that Dr. Pfeiffer brought more than teaching and intellectual skills to Rice. Through all these years he has been admired as a stalwart, wise and caring man and has earned the trust and respect of generations of students and colleagues. I cannot imagine a finer legacy.
The party was very nice, festive and well attended. I saw firsthand the care with which the staff of CAAM put it all together. I was happy to see so many people I know and I really enjoyed meeting the Pfeiffer’s daughters and sons-in-law. There were a couple of nice speeches and then cake!
What are these partygoers looking at up there?
Some glorious photographs courtesy of the Pfeiffer family. Here are a couple of them:
I kicked in this one:
I remember him well as a professor. I wish him well.
Dr. Pfeiffer was an amazing professor. Good at teaching, and a caring person. And in far better physical shape than many of his students, including me!
I knew him only at the Rice gymnasium.
We occasionally played together in pick-up basketball games.
But, as i recall, his real sport was handball.
Is that correct, all you other wannabe jocks?
Recently I was asked to talk about a person or place that had a profound impact on my life. It didn’t take long to think of Paul Pfeiffer. It wasn’t at Rice but through his tireless involvement with young people of college age at our church. In addition to teaching he and Ruth opened their home so often to us. But of greater importance than that was, the real gift he imparted was the awareness that I could develop an inquiring mind. And that has made all the difference.
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