Donald W. Emery, Textbook Author And Former UW English Professor

In 1950, Donald W. Emery was surprised and delighted when sales of the English textbook he co-authored topped 400,000. After all, "English Fundamentals" had started simply, as exercises he and another professor mimeographed for their Oregon State College students in the 1930s.

In 1964, he was delighted again as the book's sales topped 1 million.

And he was gratified again in recent years when his publisher, The Macmillan Co., told him the textbook, in its ninth edition, had passed 2 million copies sold.

When he died last Thursday at 87, Dr. Emery had just completed work on a 10th edition of the popular text.

Those who knew the longtime University of Washington English professor best knew that the greatest joy he derived from his textbook's long-running success wasn't the periodic royalty checks he received, but the knowledge that his efforts helped improve the English skills of generation after generation.

"He loved words and he loved the language," said Charles Odegaard, former UW president. "I always called him a `wordsmith' and I always learned from listening to him."

A wordsmith, a grammarian, a wit, a world traveler, a storyteller - Dr. Emery was all those things and an amateur musician, as well.

"He was a great jazz pianist," said former UW English Department Chairman Robert Heilman. "If he was at a party, more than likely there would be cries for him to hit the piano. . . . He made wonderful music that the rest of us danced to."

Born in Woonsocket, S.D., in 1906, Dr. Emery earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa in 1927 and his master's degree from the same school the following year.

In 1933, while he was teaching in Oregon, he and a colleague, the late Prof. John M. Kierzek, grew unhappy with the materials available to teach basic English grammar, so they wrote their own, a collection of workbook-style exercises.

"We dashed off 400 copies, put a cardboard cover on them and sold them for 30 cents each," he said later. "This worked well, but we didn't have the slightest idea of publishing it."

That idea came from a traveling representative of The Macmillan Co., who picked up a copy and showed it to his New York office. A contract quickly followed.

Dr. Emery came to the UW in 1934, where he remained until 1973, taking time out in World War II to work for the Army's supply service. "I was too cowardly to fight and a little bit too old to be drafted," he said. "But I felt so guilty I went out and worked for the Army for two years."

At the University, his passion for correct English drew him the nickname "Mr. Grammar."

He was active in local, regional and national professional organizations and was the author and editor of several publications of the National Council of Teachers of English.

In addition to his popular textbook, Dr. Emery wrote a pamphlet that compared the variant spellings found in modern American dictionaries, such as the eight ways to spell the word finicky.

In recent years, he and several other retired UW faculty members met regularly for lunch and billiards at the Faculty Club.

"We'd joke around a lot," said one member of the group, retired mathematician Ross Beaumont. "He was a great storyteller, and he was awfully well read, so he was always an interesting man to talk to."

At 3 p.m. Thursday, friends and family will gather at the Faculty Club to share their memories of Dr. Emery.

Preceded in death by his wife, Margaret, in 1981, Dr. Emery is survived by a son, Thomas, of Seattle, and two grandsons, Michael of Seattle and Shawn of Park City, Utah.

Memorials are suggested to Children's Hospital or the UW President's Fund for Excellence.