Robert Paynter Obituary, Robert Paynter Has Died
Robert Paynter Obituary, Death Cause – The passing of Robert Paynter ’75MA ’80 PhD has left the Department of History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in a state of profound mourning. Before spending the majority of his career teaching at this institution, Bob earned his MA and PhD in the Anthropology Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Bob made significant contributions to the curriculum of the UMass Public History Program by teaching historical archaeology classes, directing the Summer Field School in Archaeology, and serving as an examiner in historical archaeology for a large number of history graduate students. He was also a generous and perceptive reader of the scholarship produced by his history colleagues, and he was always happy to engage in in-depth conversations that covered a wide range of topics regarding the history of the local area.
When he recommended that we join the exam and dissertation committees of Anthropology students, my colleagues and I in the History department were always thankful and appreciative. These were fantastic opportunities to develop rich interdisciplinary debate, which broadened our intellectual and scholarly perspectives for all of us.
Bob was also a longtime and valuable member of the larger public history community in Western Massachusetts. He facilitated the repatriation of Indigenous artifacts held in museum collections, served on the board of Historic Northampton, and collaborated with staff at historic sites all across Western Massachusetts, including Historic Deerfield and Old Sturbridge Village.
Bob passed away in 2013. Bob began conducting archaeological studies at the W.E.B. Du Bois Boyhood Homesite in Great Barrington in 1983. These investigations have resulted in the discovery of around 30,000 items that depict the existence of African Americans in rural northern areas at the start of the 20th century. Bob was also a tireless advocate for turning the Du Bois Homesite into an international tourist destination. He did this by working with public history faculty member David Glassberg to co-write the grants that funded an interpretive plan in 2009 and an interpretive trail with seven wayside exhibits in 2014, both of which Bob and David co-authored.
Robert Paynter Obituary, Death Cause – The passing of Robert Paynter ’75MA ’80 PhD has left the Department of History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in a state of profound mourning. Before spending the majority of his career teaching at this institution, Bob earned his MA and PhD in the Anthropology Department at the University…
