Bennett John Lamond Jr.

Bennett J. Lamond, Professor Emeritus of English Literature at Washington College, died on August 15, 2016, at Compass Regional Hospice Center in Centreville, MD. Bennett John Lamond was born on February 1, 1939, in Victory Memorial Hospital, Brooklyn, NY. He was the second of three children born to Marie Catherine (nee Schultz) and Bennett Jerome Lamond. Bennett attended St. Anselm’s School and at his graduation received the Award for General Excellence, a talent that he would demonstrate throughout his life. At St. Michael’s Diocesan High School, Bennett showed an early indication of his artistic ability by winning The Tablet Diocesan Newspaper Poster Contest, which was open to all Catholic high school students. (Much later in his life his family discovered that he and a friend had walked from one station to another through a NYC subway tunnel on the way home from school, an adventure that remained undetected by his parents and the NYC Transit Authority.) Bennett graduated from Brooklyn College and spent summers doing summer stock in Newport, RI. He pursued his graduate studies in literature at Fordham University. Bennett followed his father Bennett, his aunt Jo, his sister Benita, and his beloved cousin, Jean, into the world of teaching. Bennett joined the faculty of Washington College in 1965 where he taught with passion and brilliance until his retirement in 2004. A former chair of the English Department, Bennett received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1992 “in recognition of outstanding service in stimulating and guiding the intellectual development of students at Washington College.” Bennett had a profound influence on his students in the classroom and in the lifetime of deep friendships that began there. Bennett is survived by his sister, Benita Gillespie and her husband Bob who live in Naples, FL; also by his brother, James Franklin and his wife Mary Beth Lamond who live in Brooklyn, NY; and by their children, Jaime and his wife Jenna and their children, Ruby, Luke, and Owen; Claire Condon and her husband Greg and their children, Charlie and Carolina; and Elizabeth Tripp and her husband Perry and their son Desmond. His much loved nephew, Matthew, son of James and Mary Beth, died in 1997. Bennett had sixteen cousins, and they, their spouses, children, and grandchildren made up his extended family. They all knew him and loved him. He visited them regularly and became the glue that kept the extended family together. Bennett is also survived by his community of close friends, colleagues, and students who mourn his death and celebrate his life. A memorial service will be held at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, in Chestertown, on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, at 1:00 pm, with a reception following in the Parish Hall. Relatives and friends are invited to gather for a visitation prior to the service from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm at Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home on Speer Road in Chestertown. Charitable contributions may be made in memory of Professor Bennett Lamond and addressed to the Development Office, Washington College, 300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, MD 21620.

Bennett John Lamond Jr.

February 1, 1939 - August 15, 2016