obituary from the Washington Post

April 1, 2006
Nathan C. Garner, GWU Professor

Nathan C. Garner, 64, a George Washington University professor of theatre, died of adult respiratory distress syndrome March 22 at Montgomery General Hospital.

Dr. Garner, who began teaching at GWU in 1968, helped create the school’s Master’s of Fine Arts programs in Acting, Directing and Design during the 1970’s and also helped establish the school’s interdisciplinary major in Dramatic Literature. For the past three years, he was Associate Chairman for the Department of Theatre and Dance. For more than 30 years, he directed one show each year.

In the past three years, he was a judge for the Helen Hayes Awards to local professional theatre.

Born in Shoreham, VT, he graduated from Tufts University and received a Master’s degree in theatre from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1965. He taught briefly at what was then Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania, then received a doctorate in theatre from the University of Michigan in 1985.

A fan of GWU’s basketball teams, Dr. Garner also enjoyed rooting for the Washington Redskins. He was a member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Brighton, MD.

His marriage to Ann Candice Corry ended in divorce.

Survivors include his wife of 19 years, Victoria Walsh Garner of Silver Spring; a song from his first marriage, William Richard Contant Garner of Boston; two children from his second marriage, Robert James Garner and Stephen Chadwick Garner, both of Silver Spring; three brothers; and one sister.