Obituary - Professor Peter F. J. Nazareth (27 April, 1940 – 23 May, 2026)
It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Peter Francis Joseph Nazareth at the age of 86. Peter was born in Kampala Uganda to the late P.C.S.C. Nazareth and Annie Nazareth, being the eldest of five, including siblings Ruth, John, David & Rex. He attended primary school in the Entebbe Goan School and then Kololo Secondary School, Kampala. He excelled at several subjects especially English and Mathematics, but English Literature was his first love. Peter did his undergraduate degree (B.A. Honours in English Literature) at Makerere University, Kampala in 1963 and a post-graduate degree in English at the University of Leeds in the UK in 1965. He cut short further studies to return home at the death of his father. Politics made it difficult to obtain a lecturer’s position at Makerere and so he took on a job at the Ministry of Finance as a Senior Finance Officer. He excelled there in many areas – even running the first national lottery in Uganda. Peter was recognized as both an African and Goan writer, and Uganda regarded him as one of its finest literary voices. Ironically, his work at the Ministry of Finance gave him the real-life insights that inspired his first novel, “In a Brown Mantle.” The novel appeared to foreshadow the expulsion of Asians, which took place around the time of its launch. Although Peter was exempted from the expulsion, he accepted a fellowship at Yale University, followed by a fellowship to the University of Iowa, a step that later led to tenure as a professor in English and African American Studies. Although he was an expert on the works of Joseph Conrad and D.H. Lawrence among others, but it was a course on the music of Elvis Presley that got him worldwide media attention. He was presented a key to the city of Memphis by its mayor and given a private tour of Graceland. More important to him were the numerous students whom he taught and mentored over the course of five decades. Peter married Mary Fernandes of Iringa Tanzania in 1964. In retirement Peter and Mary settled in Ashburn, Virginia. He is survived by Mary, daughters Kathleen (Dr. Randy Eccles) and Monique (Dr. Patrick Cronin), three grandsons Christopher, Aidan and Greyson, his siblings Ruth, John, David (Lydia). He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Rex, brother-in-law Cyril Fernandes, and sister-in-law Cynthia Nazareth. -- FN * +91-9822122436 * 784 Saligao 403511 Bardez Goa ------------------- YouTube Channels ------------------- FN https://www.youtube.com/c/FrederickFNNoronha/videos or https://bit.ly/FNOnYouTube FN1 https://bit.ly/FNVideos1 FN2 https://bit.ly/FNVideos2 ------------------- ------------------- ----------------
