The Classical Association of the Atlantic States would like to acknowledge gratefully two generous donations made by Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers in honor of Lou Bolchazy. Donald Sprague kindly directed a contribution from the Bolchazy-Carducci team to the Jerry Clack Fund, and Marie Bolchazy, President, sent a contribution to the general fund.
Ladislaus J. (Lou) Bolchazy, PhD
June 7, 1937—July 28, 2012
Ladislaus J. (Lou) Bolchazy, PhD was the president and founder of Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers (BCP), whose mission is “a better future through the lessons of the past.” Staffed by editors who are classicists, BCP specializes in books dealing with the ancient world. He was especially proud of the company’s Latin for the New Millennium series, launched in 2008, which is the most popular new introductory Latin series in the nation. The Red Flare: Cicero’s On Old Age, a translation of De Senectute and a favorite of Lou’s, was the last book he commissioned and also his 75th birthday present to himself. During the 1970s and 1980s, when other publishers nearly abandoned Latin, BCP, under Lou’s leadership, provided a steady stream of textbooks allowing teachers to expand the breadth of Latin authors they could teach in their Latin classrooms.
His PhD in Classics was from SUNY Albany and his MA, also in classics, was from NYU. His special interests in teaching and research were in the history of ethical concepts in the ancient world, comparative mythology, computer oriented research in the Latin language, and Slavic studies. He previously served as a classics professor at Loyola University Chicago and also at Millersville State University in PA. Author of the book Hospitality in Antiquity, he gave a number of papers at conferences and also developed a radio series on myth (“Myth Is Truth,” 14 programs in comparative mythology broadcast by Loyola University and Triton College). In addition, he was the cofounder and coeditor of the Ancient World (1978–1991) and the editor of the Classical Bulletin (1991–2008).
Lou was active in many classical organizations: AIA/APA, CAMWS, ACL, and CAES; he attended their conferences each year. He took great pleasure in talking with conferees either about his books or about the classics in general. Perhaps his favorite book of all was The Epic of Gilgamesh, and he would engage anyone he could on this topic.
In addition to his focus on the Classics, he was also devoted to Slovakia, the country of his birth. He was the president of the Slovak-American International Cultural Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that published English translations of Slovak literature and promoted Slovak art.
Born June 7, 1937 in Michalovce, Slovakia, he passed away on July 28, 2012 at the Pepper Family Hospice Center in Barrington, Illinois. He is survived by his wife Marie, his son Allan (Paul Mallatt) Bolchazy, his sisters Janine Bolchazy and Josephine (Stan) Moroch, and his brother Gene (Betty Brendel) Bolchazy.
In perpetuum, ave atque vale. Requiescat in pace.