Grace Starry West (October 5, 1946 – May 19, 2019) was an American classics scholar, best known as co-translator of a popular English edition of four texts on

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

. She taught at the

University of Dallas The University of Dallas is a Private university, private Catholic church, Catholic university in Irving, Texas. Established in 1956, it is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The university comprises four academi ...

in Texas, and at

Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private Conservatism in the United States, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was founded in 1844 by Abolitionism, abolitionists known as Free Will Baptists. Its missio ...

in Michigan.

Early life and education

Grace Starry was born in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, the daughter of McKinley Starry and Joy Champlin Starry. She graduated from high school in

Carlsbad, New Mexico Carlsbad ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Eddy County, New Mexico, Eddy County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city population was 32,238. Carlsbad is centered at the intersection of U.S. R ...

in 1964, and from

Scripps College Scripps College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Claremont, California. It was founded as a member of the Claremont Colleges in 1 ...

in 1968. She held a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

appointment for research at

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

from 1972 to 1974. She completed her doctoral studies at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA) in 1975, with a dissertation titled ''Women in Vergil’s

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

''.

Career

West was a member of the classics faculty at the University of Dallas from 1975 to 2011, including a stint as department chair from 1997 to 2006. She wrote commentaries on classical texts, and with her husband published widely-assigned translations of texts by

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

and

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...

. She also wrote about classical references in Shakespeare. West was a member of the

Society for Classical Studies The Society for Classical Studies (SCS), formerly known as the American Philological Association (APA) is a non-profit North American scholarly organization devoted to all aspects of Greek and Roman civilization founded in 1869. It is the preemine ...

, and a trustee of the Vergilian Society. She served a term as president of the Texas Classical Association, and founded the Metroplex Classical Association in Dallas. After 2011, she taught at Hillsdale College in Michigan.

Publications

* ''Women in Vergil's Aeneid'' (1975) * ''Four texts on Socrates : Plato's Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito, and Aristophanes' Clouds'' (translation, with

Thomas G. West Thomas G. West (born 1945) is an American academic. He is a professor of Politics at Hillsdale College, and the author of three books. Early life West was born in 1945. He received his B.A. from Cornell University in 1967 and his Ph.D. from Clar ...

, 1984) * ''Dion'' (commentary, 1985) * ''

Charmides Charmides (; grc-gre, Χαρμίδης), son of Glaucon, was an Athenian statesman who flourished during the 5th century BC.Debra Nails, ''The People of Plato'' (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2002), 90–94. An uncle of Plato, Charmides appears i ...

'' (translation, with Thomas G. West, 1986) * ''Pro Archia poeta oratio'' (translation, 1987)

Personal life

Grace Starry married fellow classics scholar Thomas G. West in 1974. They had four children. West died from lung cancer in 2019, aged 72 years, at her home in

Hillsdale, Michigan Hillsdale is the largest city and county seat of Hillsdale County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,036 at the 2020 census. The city is the home of Hillsdale College, a private liberal arts college noted for its academics ...

References

External links

* Grace Starry West
"Obvious Virtues? Augustus’ Golden Shield and Sallust’s Presentation of Caesar and Cato"
(a 2003 conference paper abstract) * {{DEFAULTSORT:West, Grace Starry 1946 births 2019 deaths People from Oklahoma City University of Dallas faculty University of California, Los Angeles alumni Scripps College alumni American classical scholars Hillsdale College faculty Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from cancer in Michigan