We are saddened to learn that Dr. Dennis B. Ledden, a society member who was to have presented his paper on “Hemingway, Masculinity, and John Updike’s ‘Twin Beds in Rome’” at the upcoming 6th biennial conference, died of cancer on April 1, 2021.
Dennis’s main scholarly pursuits were the works of Hemingway and Faulkner, but in recent years he expanded his interests to include Updike. His scholarship has been published in numerous university journals, even though he came to academia late in life.
Dennis, of Butler, Pennsylvania, graduated from Penn State University Park, served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam era and afterwards the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, then taught at Butler Intermediate H.S. for nearly 30 years. After retiring, he earned a Ph.D. in literature from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and taught as an Assistant Teaching Professor of English at Penn State.
He is survived by his wife, Yong Hui Ledden of Butler; son Dr. Brian Ledden and family of Pensacola, Fla.; and daughter Alicia Ledden Heine and family of the San Francisco Bay area.
Dennis was quietly passionate about literature, and members who attended the 3rd Biennial John Updike Society Conference in Reading/Shillington may recall having wide-ranging discussions with him. He enjoyed the fellowship of fellow Updike enthusiasts so much that he and Yong Hui both attended the 4th Biennial J.U.S. Conference in Columbia, South Carolina. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family. He and his positive energy will be missed.
Pictured below: Closing banquet at the 4th conference. Clockwise from Don Greiner (back of head): Peter Bailey, Fran Bailey, Richard Androne, Yong Hui Ledden, Dennis Ledden, Robert Morace, and Ellen Greiner.
