Victoria Chandler, member of the AHA since 1972, died of cancer on July 27, 1999, at the age of 49. A professor of history at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville for over 20 years, Chandler was named the university's "Distinguished Professor" for 1999, the highest honor awarded a GC&SU faculty member.
A native of Georgia, Chandler was an undergraduate at the University of Georgia where she also did her MA. She took her PhD at the University of Virginia, completing her degree in 1979. Her primary research interest was in the Anglo-Norman aristocracy, especially its patronage of religious houses, and she published several articles in this area. She was a frequent book reviewer for Albion, the Historian, and Speculum and was a contributor to the Anglo-Norman Anonymous, the newsletter of the Haskins Society.
Chandler was also a master teacher. She took her calling seriously, demanding as much as possible from her students. Her teaching areas were broad, enabling her to be well read in all of European and American history. Her teaching load was heavy, and included—in addition to medieval Europe—such topics as classical Greece, the Age of Absolutism, and the history of food, cooking, and dining. Anyone who heard her deliver a professional paper can have no doubt but that she was a vigorous and entertaining classroom lecturer, informed by a wonderful sense of humor.
Chandler was the executive secretary of the Haskins Society from its founding in 1982 until 1998, when illness forced her to give up her duties. As a board member she was always full of accurate memories of past meetings, and her insightful comments were valued especially by Presidents Warren Hollister, Eleanor Searle, and Bernie Bachrach. She was absolutely reliable in performing her duties, which included compiling and distributing the minutes for each annual meeting.
Victoria Chandler was a good friend. Her thoughtfulness and devotion to others were always exemplary. Typical, too, were her courage and indomitable spirit all the while she was fighting cancer and its related problems. Her communiqués right up to the end were always upbeat and full of hope. We will miss her.
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Furman University
Reprinted in part with permission of the Anglo-Norman Anonymous
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