MEMORIAL SERVICE Service Memorializes Professor Lepgold and Son By Amanda McGrath Hoya Staff Writer

The memories and reflections shared by friends and family, students and colleagues in Gaston Hall last Friday described the life and work of former Government professor Joseph S. Lepgold as one of enthusiasm and intensity that left its mark on the Georgetown community.

“This leaves a gap in our community and in our hearts that will never be filled,” University President John J. DeGioia said.

The service of reflection and remembrance held Jan. 18 mourned the loss of Lepgold and his 11-year-old son, Jordan and showed support for Lepgold’s wife, Nancy “Nicki” Dean, who remains in a coma at L’hopital Beaujon in Clichy, France.

The family was vacationing in Paris over the Thanksgiving break when an electrical fire broke out in their hotel. Lepgold, 47, died in L’hopital Cochin early Dec. 4 as a result of his injuries. Jordan died Nov. 26.

Lepgold held a joint appointment with the Government department and the School of Foreign Service. He was well-known as a teacher and scholar in the field of international relations, a career to which he was so devoted he was frequently in the office on weekends researching projects like Beyond the Ivory Tower: International Relations Theory and the Problem of Policy Relevance – his most recently published in a string of six books. His colleagues remembered Lepgold as a friendly academic competitor with a passion for learning and an unmistakable enthusiasm for life.

“He dedicated himself to the quest for knowledge and maintained strong convictions,” Government professor George Shambaugh said. “Joe made the quest for ideas exciting.”

The testimonies of Lepgold’s graduate and undergraduate students showed that he carried his enthusiasm into the classroom.

“The relationship between teacher and student in its purest sense is unique,” Nikhil Patel (SFS ’02), a former student in Lepgold’s undergraduate International Relations Theory class said. “He was amazing in every respect: his devotion to his studies, his dedication to giving a small part of his insight, a small part of himself to others.”

Patel also linked Lepgold’s commitment to academics to his love for classical music. “He viewed his life’s work in the way a composer crafts a symphony – every idea was put together with intense contemplation to form a whole.”

Only baseball may have exceeded Lepgold’s love for classical music, according to speakers at the services. He often used baseball analogies in class and though he may have missed a few family dinners due to long hours at the office, he never missed one of Jordan’s baseball games.

“[Joe] loved his son with the boundless passion that was his defining characteristic,” Lepgold’s sister, Dr. Edith Lepgold, said.

Jordan was eulogized as a bright and inquisitive individual – a meticulous and self-confident student that his sixth grade teacher described both as a little boy and a grown man. He was described as possessing the ambition and academic potential characteristic of his late father. “[Jordan] always asked the smart questions when the adults had lost their perspectives,” Patel said. One of Jordan’s middle-school classmates, Daniel Schwartz, also spoke about his friend as an excellent student who loved video games, Boy Scouts and his pet iguana.

Family, friends and co-workers of Nancy Dean described a woman devoted to her husband and son. A talented social security policy analyst, colleagues said Dean is a dependable co-worker who made the office feel like a family. Attendees expressed their support and offered their prayers to Dean’s family during her continued hospitalization.

The service’s speakers were interjected with readings and prayers from various religious scriptures. While Lepgold was said to be proud of his Jewish heritage, the services represented a variety of faiths. A performance by the Williamsburg Boys and Girls Ensemble provided music.

Joseph and Jordan Lepgold were buried in ceremonies held earlier last week in Wisconsin.

DeGioia also announced the creation of a memorial fund in Lepgold’s honor. The Joseph S. Lepgold Medal will be given each year to an undergraduate senior who shows exceptional academic achievement in the SFS. Another award will be given to an outstanding book in the field of international security studies.

The services were intended to allow friends and family to share their memories and thoughts about the Lepgold family.

“We have a responsibility to carry out Joe’s legacy, and above all, the way Joe did it – carry it out with enthusiasm,” Government professor Andy Bennett said.