Vivienne GRAY Obituary

I´m so sorry Bill. I always enjoyed our catch ups with you both. Sending love and hugs from us all. xx

RIP Auntie Vivienne, we didn't know each other that well, but you were always my Auntie.

Vivienne was a brilliant teacher, supervisor, role model, mentor and friend. She was my first guide to the original Greek of many great ancient writers: Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Alcman, Sappho, Archilochus, Pindar, Lysias, Isocrates and Aristophanes. Her rigour with language and ideas and her love for these ancient authors were always evident and were, for me, inspirational. She had a great sense of humour. On first reading with her Herodotus of Halicarnassus´ proem, with its resounding, polysyllabic self-reference to the author, I recall her remarking how lucky it was that he had not come from nearby Cos. Vivienne encouraged me to continue a research career and remained incredibly supportive right up to her final months. I admired her immensely and will miss her immensely. A bright flame, gone too soon. May her great works not go unsung.

I attended an academic conference in Australia (Brisbane I think) some many years ago with Vivienne and we struck up a great friendship, talking endlessly and earnestly, but also with a lot of laughter. I felt we admired one another and enjoyed one another's company. She had a shining intelligence and great warmth. I liked her so much. She will be greatly missed.

A great lecturer and teacher who inspired generations of classics students - and taught them to read, reason, and write. The ancient world grows a little dimmer without her.