Arnold Markley, 47, Penn State professor

Arnold Markley, 47, of West Philadelphia, a professor of English at the Pennsylvania State University Brandywine campus, died of complications of leukemia Friday, June 3, at home.

Dr. Markley grew up in Georgia and North Carolina. He graduated from Fayetteville Academy, where he was student body president, and earned a bachelor's degree from Guilford College in North Carolina.

He then studied Greek and Latin at the University of South Carolina and at the University of Pennsylvania before earning a master's degree in English and a doctorate in 19th-century British romantic and Victorian literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

After completing his studies in 1996, Dr. Markley joined the English department at Penn State Brandywine, where he taught a wide variety of courses, including Shakespeare, the Victorian novel, classical literature and mythology, and Gothic fiction and film.

He taught courses at Penn State programs in Britain, Spain, Italy, and Greece, and traveled often to England for literary research.

In 2001, Dr. Markley received Penn State's George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in undergraduate teaching and in 2007 he was selected for Penn State Brandywine's distinguished teacher award. He had a passion for teaching and was committed to his students, said his life partner, Brian Meyer.

Dr. Markley authored numerous articles in professional journals, and coedited or edited modern editions of late 18th-century and early 19th-century novels by William Godwin, Charlotte Smith, and Thomas Holcroft, and a volume of unpublished manuscripts by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

He was the author of two books, Stateliest Measures: Tennyson and the Literature of Greece and Rome and Conversion and Reform in the British Novel in the 1790s.

Dr. Markley was a volunteer for Manna in Philadelphia.

The organization prepares and delivers nutritious meals to individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, or other life-threatening illnesses.

He enjoyed bicycling and spending time at beaches in New Jersey, Delaware, and South Carolina.

In addition to his partner of 17 years, Dr. Markley is survived by his mother, Julia Markley; a sister, Mary Markley; his father and stepmother, Bill and Cori Markley; his grandmother Mary Markley; and four nephews.

The funeral will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, June 11, at St. Luke and the Epiphany Church, 330 S. 13th St., Philadelphia.

Donations may be made to Penn State Brandywine for the Arnold Markley Scholarship, Development Office, 25 Yearsley Mill Rd., Media, Pa. 19063.