Philip T. Stevick, 78, retired Temple professor
Philip T. Stevick, 78, of Ardmore, a professor emeritus of English literature at Temple University, died of cancer Sunday at home.
Philip T. Stevick, 78, of Ardmore, a professor emeritus of English literature at Temple University, died of cancer Sunday at home.
Dr. Stevick retired in 1996 after 31 years at Temple. He was known for "his tenacious intellect and generosity as a teacher, often saving students at crucial moments in their careers," said Shannon Miller, chairwoman of the English department.
Dr. Stevick was an engaging professor, colleague Dan O'Hara said. "When I began grad school, his was the first class I attended," O'Hara said. "He walked in, sports coat over his shoulder a la Sinatra, twirled it around, and placed it deftly on the back of the chair and proceeded to give the most brilliant intro on the history of the novel I have ever heard."
Dr. Stevick was a specialist in 18th-century literature but "had a restless mind," Miller said. He also taught a course on the modern American novel.
He wrote or edited eight books and contributed to many more. In 1996, he combined his love of history and Philadelphia with the book Imagining Philadelphia. An Inquirer book critic called the survey of 200 years of impressions by visitors to the city "shrewd, detailed, and remarkably thoughtful, the best meditation on Philadelphia in many years."
Dr. Stevick wrote that tourists in 1812 and during the Centennial Exposition in 1876 had marveled at the Waterworks in Fairmount Park. But later visitors, he wrote, described the city as "dirty," "disorderly," and "corrupt."
Dr. Stevick grew up in Elyria, Ohio, and played the baritone horn in marching bands as a youth. He studied music at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, before enlisting in the Army. He served in the States during the Korean War.
After his discharge, he earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in literature from Kent State University and a doctorate in 18th-century English literature from Ohio State University.
He loved jazz and classical music and was an incredibe cook, said Abigail Levner, his wife since 1993. His specialties included sour-cherry cobbler, corn chowder, and chicken enchiladas, and he was always ready to try new dishes, she said.
A talented handyman, Dr. Stevick built a vacation cabin in Vermont with his sons and a cabin in the Endless Mountains in Pennsylvania. "He had more joie de vivre than anyone I know," his wife said.
Dr. Stevick is also survived by his sons, Terry and Tom; a daughter, Jane Cohen; stepsons Adam and Ethan Levner; a brother; and five grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at the Conservatory at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, 225 Belmont Ave., Bala Cynwyd.
