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John Vance Obituary
Published by Legacy Remembers on Oct. 4, 2024.
John Anthony Vance, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, died peacefully on September 30, 2024, at Augusta University Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia at the age of 77. John quietly and bravely fought Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) for the past 6 months.
John was born in Oceanside, New York on August 9, 1947. A few years later, his family moved from New York to the West Palm Beach area of Florida. He spent his childhood walking to the beach every day from his Grandma Mary DeMont's house. He loved playing baseball and golf, watching Davy Crockett and The Three Stooges, and creating battle scenes with his army men on the beach. His favorite companion was his black cocker spaniel, who he named Moe after one of his favorite television characters. He graduated from Riviera Beach High School in Riviera Beach, Florida in 1965. At that point in his life, John was conflicted about what he wanted to do next and had no interest in academic pursuits. He was unsure that he had passed enough classes to graduate high school. After working for the Pratt & Whitney company for a year folding blueprints, he enlisted in the United States Army in 1966. He was mainly stationed in Miami but also spent a year in Korea. At the urging of his army buddies, he decided to take advantage of the G.I. Bill and enrolled at Palm Beach Junior College. In his sophomore survey English literature class, John's life changed direction when his instructor, Watson B. Duncan III sparked John's mind and heart in literature. In this same literature class, another student took special notice of John when Mr. Duncan read John's original Canterbury Tale aloud. That person was his future wife, Susan (Susie). John received his Associate of Arts degree from Palm Beach Junior College in 1972.
John and Susie transferred to Florida State University in Tallahassee and began dating. John received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English in June of 1974 and married Susie in Lake Park, Florida on July 27, 1974. They returned to Tallahassee and John earned his Master of Arts degree in English in 1975, graduating cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He took a teaching job at Jupiter High School as an English instructor. John often laughingly explained that after only one day of teaching high schoolers, he returned home and told Susie that he was going back to school for his Ph.D. After completing the school year teaching at Jupiter High and serving as the drama sponsor, he returned to Florida State University. He completed his Ph.D. in English Literature in May of 1979.
John moved to Athens, Georgia after he was hired by the University of Georgia as an Assistant Professor in 1979. He spent his entire teaching career at UGA, being promoted to Associate Professor in 1985, Full Professor in 1993, and finally to Emeritus Professor in 2010. His areas of research were Restoration and Eighteenth-Century British Literature and Renaissance to Modern Drama. During his academic career, he received the following recognition and achievements: Outstanding Honors Professor, 1985; Nominee for James Russell Lowell Prize (Modern Language Association) and Louis Gottschalk Prize (American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies) Samuel Johnson and the Sense of History, 1985; Election to The Johnsonians, 1985; Sandy Beaver Professorship for Excellence in Teaching, 1991-94; Martha Munn Bedingfield Prize for Outstanding Teaching, 2011.
He was proud to be a Major Professor to Master of Arts students and Ph.D. students and was on numerous M.A. and Ph.D. examination committees. John was the author of several scholarly books and wrote chapters in other authors' academic books, journal articles, and book reviews. He enjoyed creative writing and wrote, directed, adapted, and performed in many locally produced theatrical works relevant to teaching and research.
John was a member of several academic editorial boards, wrote and presented numerous papers at academic conferences and public lectures from 1980-2023, and organized and chaired academic seminars in cities all across the United States. His last seminar was "The Eighteenth-Century and Social Media" at the Southeastern American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies Conference in 2023. He participated in many administrative services for the University of Georgia and the English department in various research, nominating and search committees, and as a reader of names at commencement ceremonies.
John dedicated his first academic book to the teacher who inspired him, writing: "For Watson B. Duncan III. A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. -Henry Brooks Adams." Quite an apt quote as many of John's students kept in touch with him and expressed similar sentiments about his teaching and influence in their lives. Each time he heard from a former student, he was amazed and deeply moved. He had extensive correspondence with several former students who expressed gratitude for John's influence in their lives.
John was heavily involved in local theater from 1986-2012 as an actor, director, and producer as well as president of several boards. He acted with Town & Gown and Athens Ballet Theatre and later formed his theater group, JV Productions. He wrote and staged 28 plays outside of the academic world and performed in countless more. He formed many meaningful and lifelong friendships through theater and often admitted to enjoying the rehearsal process and camaraderie more than the actual performances. He loved gathering people for rehearsals and cast parties in his home and considered them all his extended family.
Two of his children's favorite television acting credits were his roles as the Road King for a local tire company and the voice of the animated hamburger for the Varsity. John also did voiceover work for the Twilight Criterium, a local car dealership, and promoted the latest upcoming theater productions. John had a magnificent voice and people often complimented him on his rich baritone, saying they could happily listen to him read the phone book.
After writing original plays for many years, John progressed to novel writing. He truly loved writing, and once he retired, he spent almost every morning writing at his computer. He had twenty novels published by independent presses which are all available on Amazon.
John loved watching sports, especially football and golf. Although he lived in Athens and spent his entire teaching career at UGA, his favorite team was the Florida State Seminoles. He was a long-time football booster and never missed a game. Most he watched on television, but he traveled back to Tallahassee for games throughout the years. He remained a dedicated fan whether it was a National Championship season, an unsuccessful season, or somewhere in between. Make no mistake, he was also an avid Georgia Bulldogs fan.
John had many, many interests across a broad spectrum and never stopped learning. He loved to read historical biographies and would often read 3 to 4 books at the same time. Most recently he was teaching himself a new Italian phrase each day. He played the guitar and especially liked singing made-up lyrics using his grandchildren's names. He liked to sketch famous works of art with his own special spin. He particularly enjoyed going to the movies with Hope and Jimmy and discussing and quoting favorite lines from the movies and TV shows they saw together. After Susie's hip replacement in 2023, he took a great interest in cooking on cast iron and creating new recipes for Susie to try.
For the past ten years, John most enjoyed dining and traveling. He rotated dining at a handful of favorite local restaurants and enjoyed eating at the same table with the same server on each visit. In recent years it brought him great joy to have a "Vance Family Table" plaque on the wall of his favorite booth at DePalmas on Timothy Road. He loved meeting his friends for lunch and going out to dinner with Susie and the family. If he was planning a trip, much time and effort was put into researching the best local restaurants and securing reservations. He particularly enjoyed trips to Canada to see dear friends, especially in the cold weather months.
John played many roles on stage, but his favorite role of all was Dad. Susie knew from the time she and John were dating that he would be an excellent father. He was a proud and loving father to Hope and Jimmy. Whether it was in an auditorium watching a dance recital or in the bleachers at a sporting event, John was immensely proud and supportive of anything and everything his children were involved in. He rarely missed any event his children were involved in, and this carried over to his grandchildren's activities. He was a dedicated Pop Pop.
John is survived by his beloved wife Susan McDowell Vance, his dearest children Hope Vance Wiltshire (Mo) and James Matthew Vance (Kari), 6 precious granddaughters: Mia, Lila, and Charlotte Wiltshire, and Becca, Katie and Ellie Vance, and his much-loved grand-dog Waker.
He is preceded in death by his mother, Ann DeMont Evans.
The family would like to thank Dr. Priyanka Pathak for her insightful knowledge, personal attention, and gentle care, and the kind staff and volunteers at University Cancer and Blood Center (UCBC). Additionally, the family would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Vamsi Kota for his expertise and compassion and to the exceptional oncology and palliative care staff at Augusta University Medical Center who cared for John in his final days.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in John's name to our local Cancer Foundation of Northeast Georgia: https://cancerfoundationofnega.org
A celebration of John's life will be held at the University of Georgia Chapel on Sunday, November 3, 2024, at 3:00 pm. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/john-vance-obituary?id=56455654
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