In Memoriam: René Joseph Immelé 1933 - 2002

Abstract

IN MEMORIAM René Joseph Immelé 1933 - 2002 Tenso has recently learned ofthe death ofRené Immelé, a scholar not well known in the scholarly community but who was present at the birth of the Société Guilhem IX and who merits this last recollection. René Immelé was bornAug. 1,1933, in L'Hôpital (Moselle), France, son ofthe late Victor Immelé and Elisabeth Klock Immelé. René brought his gallic charm to the U.S. in 1966 in order to marry Anita Geòrgie at her home in Michigan. In 1978, he received his doctorate in Comparative Literature at the University of Michigan; his dissertation was entitled, "Etude comparée des aubes au moyen-âge." He taught French and Latin at East Carolina University, the State University ofWest Georgia and at Savannah State University, from which he retired in 2000. He was beloved by many students and was especially proud to be the founder and director ofa state-of-the-art language laboratory at Savannah State. He created chapters of the Alliance Française at West Georgia and Savannah State and was known for his Bastille Day parties in Savannah. His great passion on life was research into many aspects ofculture in the MiddleAges, particularly literary and philological. He traveled to libraries in France, Spain and Portugal to unearth material on his favorite topic, the medieval alba. At the time ofhis death, he was learning web design in order to create a website for an extensive bibliography on the alba. René attendedthe 1986 International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan, when the Société Guilhem IX was officially formed. He took an active role in drafting the bylaws ofthe organization, meeting with Merritt Blakeslee and Wendy 103 IN MEMORIAM René Joseph Immelé Pfeffer at a table in the Valley III cafeteria for long discussions of the new organization and its goals. Although never an officer ofthe Société, he influenced the organization in ways he never knew. René was a great cook, especially of the dishes of his native Lorraine; he loved troubadour music and French drinking songs; he was a talented videographer. He was fond of"pilgrimages" to places in France that had special meaning to him; on his last trip to France in 2001, he was proud to have climbed Montségur. René Immelé died December 2, 2002, of lung cancer. At the time ofhis death, survivors included his wife, Anita G Immelé; daughters, Valerie C. Immelé of Atlanta and Elisabeth Immelé of Paris, France; sons, George and Hervé Immelé, both of the Paris region; sister, Louise Immelé ofCarling (Moselle), France; brother, Robert Immelé, also of Carling; brother Achille Immelé ofVence, France; 7 grandchildren, three nieces and one nephew. Since then, his brother Robert has died. Wendy Pfeffer 104 ...