Randall Knoper (Professor Emeritus) writes:
It’s with deep sorrow that I write to let you know about the unexpected death or our colleague Margo Culley who retired at the end of 2003. Margo taught in the English Department for over three decades, starting in 1972. By then she had already established herself as an activist—she was proud of having attended the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and having worked for two summers registering voters in South Carolina and New Orleans as part of the Freedom Summer project. With a group of like-minded colleagues she continued to follow her impeccable political instincts here, being especially important in establishing and sustaining women’s studies at UMass and in teaching her wildly popular courses in women’s literature and ethnic American literature. Everyone who knew her will attest that, though a fighter for justice, she was also an exemplar of kindness and care. The number of students—and faculty members—she taught and mentored are countless. Her work as a scholar and editor of women’s writing, especially women’s autobiography and diaries, was groundbreaking. She leaves behind her beloved partner, Kathleen Swaim; the two of them were an inseparable and mutually supportive pair. We send our condolences to Kathy, and grieve with her. A lodestar for the department, Margo will be truly missed.
A memorial service for Margo will be held Sunday, October 13, at 2 pm, in the Wendell Meetinghouse, 1 Morse Village Road, Wendell, MA (on the Wendell Common). After the memorial service, a reception will be held at the nearby Wendell Public Library, 7 Depot Road, Wendell. All are invited.
Access Culley's obituary.