Rick Gagné ’83

Rick Gagné ’83 died at home in Clinton, Mississippi, on May 28, 2014, nine weeks after his diagnosis with late-stage cancer. At Dartmouth Rick was an English major and a member of Foley House. He worked in Sanborn Library and silkscreened posters at the Hopkins Center design studio. He took two years off in the middle of college, immersing himself in literature, Irish music and the study of colonial gravestones. This latter interest (sparked by walks to breakfast through the College cemetery) ultimately led to a Ph.D. in folklore at Indiana University, and he continued to explore the place of early gravestones in frontier American culture. In 1981, along with classmates Kelley Bishop, Carrick Eggleston, and Tom McKean, Rick formed the band DunCreagan, which played for 13 years in venues ranging from Collis to Switzerland. Rick continued to play and compose Irish music for the rest of his life. In 1985 he married Elise Morse ’83; their children were born in 1993 and 1997. He was a devoted husband and rejoiced in fatherhood. Rick’s intellectual energy was matched only by his passion for educational quality and equality. In 2006 he joined the English department at Tougaloo College, where he was both a demanding and encouraging teacher. Ten days before his death he attended commencement to congratulate the graduating English majors. Survivors include parents Richard ’51 and Margery, siblings Charles and Katharine ’89, parents-in-law Tony ’52 and Dorothy, sisters-in-law Anne and Sophie, wife Elise and children David and Katharine.