Deceased March 9, 2016
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In Memory
I am sad to report that our beloved classmate John Edward Kicza passed away March 9, 2016. John, distinguished longtime professor at Washington State University, is survived by his wife of 35 years, Diane, and children Adrienne and Andrew.
After majoring in history at Amherst, John received a master’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of Massachusetts, followed by a doctorate from UCLA. John wrote four books: Colonial Entrepreneurs: Family and Business in Bourbon Mexico City (1983), from his dissertation; The Indian in Latin American History (1993); The Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas Before Contact (1998); and Resilient Cultures: America’s Native Peoples Confront European Colonialization 1500–1800 (2003).
John joined the Washington State faculty in 1980, despite fears caused by the eruption of Mount St. Helens just after his interview. In 1985–86, John was a visiting fellow at Princeton. He then did research in Mexico City on a Fulbright grant. In 1990–91 a National Endowment for the Humanities grant allowed John and family to work in Santa Fe, N.M., at what is now the School for Advanced Research.
John was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1997. Deep brain stimulation surgery returned him to complete function, allowing him to write Resilient Cultures and serve as associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and chair of the history department until the disease progressed and caused him to retire.
John was my freshman-year roomie, displaying his Teddy Bear to my parents as a token that all would remain under control on Fourth Floor Stearns, despite Jim Steinman ’69 and Alan Blum ’69 next door and under the watchful eye of Eric Reiner ’66. John’s enduring contributions to Amherst will remain his participation in the authentic Luau of Mike Takemori ’68 and Steve Sumida ’68 and his Gene Pitney’s Greatest Hits album, which put the British Invasion to shame.
Tom Hibbard ’69