In Memoriam: Dean Alfange, Jr.

Dean Alfange, Jr., born in New York City on May 6, 1930, died at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, on Jan. 1, following a long illness; his wife, Barbara, was at his side.

Image

Growing up on New York's West Side, he attended McBurney school and from there earned a B.A. at Hamilton College in 1950. He served in the military from 1952 to 1957. In 1960 he earned a master's degree from the University of Colorado followed by a doctorate from Cornell University in 1967.

While in Colorado he met Barbara Vance whom he married in 1959, to begin their sixty-four years together. After teaching at Lafayette College from 1963 to 1966 he taught constitutional law and civil liberties at the University of Massachusetts Amherst until his retirement in 1999. During that time he also served in the positions of Dean of the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Acting Provost.

During his teaching career he received distinguished teaching awards from both Lafayette and UMass. The Dean Alfange Lecture Series in Constitutional Law was funded by a group of former students and brought distinguished scholars in that field to speak, annually. Many of his writings were published in leading law journals as were his reviews of articles written by others. He participated in many panel discussions and served on various committees over the years.

Alfange's active military duty was followed by twenty years of serving in the Air Force Reserves, retiring in 1980 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Following his retirement from teaching, he was able to pursue his interest in the arts an became a supporter of several small theatrical groups in the City, such as The Mint, the Irish Repertory Theatre, the Gingold Theatrical Group, Musicals Tonight and musical venues performing the music of Tin Pan Alley and classical jazz including Vince Giordano and his Nighthawks Orchestra. Films of the 20's and 30's were also of interest to him and he was able to build an extensive home library of tapes and recordings. His support went to local performers as well, two of which included the Valley Light Opera and the duo of Jerry Noble and Bob Sparkman.
 

Dean is survived by his wife, Barbara, a nephew, John Osgood, and a cousin, Thalia Collis.

In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to a charity of your choice.

Visitation will be on Friday, Jan.6, 2023, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Douglass Funeral Home, 87 N. Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA.

Memorial guestbook at www.douglassfuneral.com