{"id":48162,"date":"2021-01-15T14:11:15","date_gmt":"2021-01-15T19:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=48162"},"modified":"2021-01-24T09:22:20","modified_gmt":"2021-01-24T14:22:20","slug":"professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/","title":{"rendered":"Professor and author Omar Eby remembered for kindness, honesty, mentorship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Omar Elias Eby<\/strong>, a professor emeritus of English at Eastern Mennonite University who taught for nearly 30 years, died Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, after a six-year struggle with vascular dementia in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He was 85.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eby was a beloved mentor to hundreds of students, shaping lives and careers and making lifelong friendships with many who passed through his office and his classroom from 1964-66 and from 1972-99. His devotion to the art and collaborative process of writing is remembered annually through the Omar Eby Writing Award, presented to a senior majoring or minoring in writing studies who demonstrates excellence in the craft of creative writing and who provides insightful critique and support for other writers in creative workshops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In a tribute shared during the 2013 Mennonite\/s Writing Conference, friend and colleague Carroll Yoder<\/strong>, a fellow professor emeritus, wrote admiringly of Eby\u2019s \u201cdisciplined versatility\u201d as an author. All of his colleagues would employ the phrase willingly to describe the diversity of his talents and interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Emeritus James R. Bomberger<\/strong> calls his friend Eby \u201cone of a kind,\u201d an artist and master novelist, a scholar and a teacher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her foreword to Eby\u2019s Markings My Own: Musings on the Gospel of Mark<\/em> (Cascadia, 2003), fellow English professor and former dean Lee Snyder<\/strong> lists Eby\u2019s many personae: author, Anabaptist, colleague, descendant,\u00a0 friend, horticulturist, grandparent, gourmand, teacher, mentor, missionary, music lover, parent, pilgrim, poet, seeker, sinner and spouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His published works range from novels to short stories, essays and poetry, the aforementioned volume of meditations on the Gospel of Mark, a memoir of his volunteer service in Somalia, and a history of Mennonite missions in Somalia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the anniversary of EMC\u2019s 60th year, Eby was tapped to contribute a 10-year history (titled \u201cThe Restless Decade: 1967-77\u201d and published in The Bulletin<\/a>), that took up the institutional story where Professor Hubert Pellman<\/strong>\u2019s 50-year history left off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The foreword to this article captures something else Eby was known for: his honesty. \u201cNot everybody will be happy with the article,\u201d he wrote, anticipating criticism about whose views were omitted, the tone he used or a perception of limited sharing of \u201cinstitutional woes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of that independence, that \u201cdisciplined versatility\u201d also appears in Eby\u2019s assessment of the article, which he says makes \u201cno attempt to match tone or depth\u201d of Pellman\u2019s chronicle. (Pellman was an influential mentor and friend, according to the family.) The work is pure Eby, he seems to suggest: \u201cIt is more impressionistic, anecdotal, celebrative, interpretative \u2013 and occasionally confessional.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Reading with his two daughters in a photo taken for the 1973 EMU yearbook.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

The memorial service<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The news of Eby\u2019s passing has inspired many former students to share reflections on his impact. Before we hear from them, here is information about how to participate in his memorial service and how to honor his memory:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pastor Phil Kniss of Park View Mennonite Church will conduct a memorial service via live stream on Saturday, Jan. 23, at 2 p.m. The service can be viewed by visiting www.pvmchurch.org\/omareby<\/a>.  A phone option is also available for those without video access.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to the pandemic there will be no viewing or visitation.  At Omar\u2019s request his body was cremated and a graveside burial was held privately for the family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The full obituary is here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In lieu of flowers, Omar\u2019s children Katrina Yoder, Maria Lahman and Lawrence Eby<\/strong> request that memorial contributions be made in his honor to EMU\u2019s Language and Literature Department: online at emu.edu\/giving\/lang-lit<\/a> or via mail by indicating “In Memory of Omar Eby” on the check and sent to EMU, Attn Development Office, 1200 Park Rd., Harrisonburg, VA 22802.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online condolences shared in the comment box at the end of this article will be shared with the family. You may also visit www.mcmullenfh.com<\/a> and offer condolences there as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A beloved mentor<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Omar Eby in the early years of his teaching career in 1965. He joined the faculty at his alma mater the year prior.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Former students of Eby\u2019s who were contacted for this article, and some who reached out independently, sent in paragraphs of poignant memories. Omar Eby would no doubt be pleased by the crisp clarity and grammatical correctness of their writing, their conveyance of both narrative and meaning, their enlivened characterizations, the beauty of interaction and relationship held up to the light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some excerpts. If you\u2019re interested in reading the fulsome tributes, these are appended with permission of the author in the comments at the end of the article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI and countless other students will always be better because Omar was a part of our lives during these formative years,\u201d summarized Isaac Wengerd \u201896<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He recalled a relationship that grew and deepened over time, from visits to Eby\u2019s office and later in his home, their \u201cwandering conversation spanning not only language and literature but also challenges or struggles that one of us, or perhaps the EMU community or larger world, was facing. In his authenticity, Omar did not shy away from sharing freely of his own struggles with faith, doubt, vocation and writing…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many, Eby\u2019s influence is ever-present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roy D. Brubaker \u201892 <\/strong>says that \u201cvery few days go by in my work as a public sector forester and ecologist that I don’t find myself realizing what a formative role Omar had on me as an educator, mentor, friend, and role model.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author and teacher Jessica Penner \u201801 <\/strong>still wrestles with Eby\u2019s advice. In a journal entry for his class, she once explained she did \u201cthe homework I hated\u201d first and \u201cmy true loves last.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, my \u2018fun\u2019 homework got the shortest time. Omar responded something to the tune of: \u2018Why on earth would you do that? I always do the things I love first. The other stuff will take care of itself.\u2019 I still catch myself doing the things I hate before the things I love\u2014but then I hear Omar, chiding me for wasting joy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eby was a confidant and a \u201cprescient, prophetic mentor\u201d as Chad Schrock MDiv \u201802<\/strong> contemplated leaving the pastorate for a life of teaching and scholarship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 I confided in him once that I had qualms about leaving the pastorate for a life of English teaching and scholarship.  Surely pastoring I could reach more people than selfishly, alone, writing articles that a few dozen people would read and care about!  I did not expect Omar\u2019s stinging, withering critique. Who did I think I was, judging the many more important than the few?  More people could reach the many; perhaps I was the only one capable of reaching those particular few. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now a professor of English at Lee University in Tennessee, Schrock observes \u201cmy current life of deep, rich relationality and discipleship is one he imagined on my behalf when my own faith fell short.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wendell Shank \u201802<\/strong>, a student during Eby\u2019s final year at EMU, benefited from his advice as his first-year advisor, and then \u201cdrag[ged] him out of retirement\u201d for an independent study on William Faulkner that turned into bi-weekly dinners and wide-ranging discussion as Eby shared stories of his life in Tanzania; his courtship of his love, Anna Kathryn; and struggles as a writer and scholar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shank, an instructor in EMU\u2019s Language and Literature Department, holds Eby as an exemplar: \u201cOmar inspired me to write, to question my faith in the process of owning it, and to apply both my writing and my faith in my understanding of the world around me \u2026 I continue to treasure the way in which he took me under his wing and helped me make sense of literature and faith. I hope to someday serve my students in the same way.\u201d   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tributes to Omar Eby shared below will also be passed along to his family.<\/em> <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Omar Elias Eby, a professor emeritus of English at Eastern Mennonite University who taught for nearly 30 years, died Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, after a six-year struggle with vascular dementia ... read more about Professor and author Omar Eby remembered for kindness, honesty, mentorship<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,5583,17562,5642,356],"tags":[],"feature":[17427,17241],"class_list":["post-48162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-campus-community","category-digest","category-faculty-and-staff","category-language-and-literature","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-news-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nProfessor and author Omar Eby remembered for kindness, honesty, mentorship - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Professor and author Omar Eby remembered for kindness, honesty, mentorship - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Omar Elias Eby, a professor emeritus of English at Eastern Mennonite University who taught for nearly 30 years, died Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, after a six-year struggle with vascular dementia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-15T19:11:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-24T14:22:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/01\/15140110\/20210106-Omar-Eby-News-features.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/\",\"name\":\"Professor and author Omar Eby remembered for kindness, honesty, mentorship - EMU News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/01\/15140110\/20210106-Omar-Eby-News-features.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-15T19:11:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-24T14:22:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/01\/15140110\/20210106-Omar-Eby-News-features.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/01\/15140110\/20210106-Omar-Eby-News-features.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Professor and author Omar Eby remembered for kindness, honesty, mentorship\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\",\"name\":\"EMU News\",\"description\":\"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Professor and author Omar Eby remembered for kindness, honesty, mentorship - EMU News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Professor and author Omar Eby remembered for kindness, honesty, mentorship - EMU News","og_description":"Omar Elias Eby, a professor emeritus of English at Eastern Mennonite University who taught for nearly 30 years, died Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, after a six-year struggle with vascular dementia","og_url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/","og_site_name":"EMU News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite","article_published_time":"2021-01-15T19:11:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-01-24T14:22:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/01\/15140110\/20210106-Omar-Eby-News-features.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EMU_News","twitter_site":"@EMU_News","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/","name":"Professor and author Omar Eby remembered for kindness, honesty, mentorship - EMU News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/01\/15140110\/20210106-Omar-Eby-News-features.jpg","datePublished":"2021-01-15T19:11:15+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-24T14:22:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/01\/15140110\/20210106-Omar-Eby-News-features.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/01\/15140110\/20210106-Omar-Eby-News-features.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2021\/professor-and-author-omar-eby-remembered-for-kindness-honesty-mentorship\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Professor and author Omar Eby remembered for kindness, honesty, mentorship"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/","name":"EMU News","description":"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245","name":"admin","sameAs":["http:\/\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48162"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48253,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48162\/revisions\/48253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48162"},{"taxonomy":"feature","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature?post=48162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}