Washington R. Vazquez

Professor Emeritus Washington R. Vázquez

Writer, Scholar, Man of Integrity…

“E alguma coisa na liquidção da minha vida.”

“It’s something in the conclusion of my life.”   Machado de Assis, in ‘Dom Casmurro’

Washington Rampa Vázquez, age 101 of Oxford, Ohio passed away on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Washington was born on the farm of his Italian maternal grandparents in Rivera, Uruguay on June 11, 1922 to the late Isabelino Vázquez and Julia Rampa Vázquez.  He was raised in a community of cattlemen and frontiersmen on the border of northern Uruguay and southern Brazil.

He attended elementary school at a private one-room schoolhouse and then a public secondary school.  He studied accountancy at the Institute of Commercial Studies and began working in the family business.  He served with the Uruguayan military reserves in the cavalry regiment and played second division soccer for Sant’Ana do Livramento (Brazil).

From an early age, Washington was interested in the folkways and folklore of his native multilingual frontier region where Spanish, Portuguese, as well as the indigenous sounds of Tupí-Guaraní could be heard.  He was greatly influenced by his godfather, don Tranquilo Rampa, who was a farmer and voracious reader.  Don Tranquilo kept a trunk that contained the world at his feet… a variety of books, which Washington read with enthusiasm.  Washington was wise beyond his years.  So wise, that his family gave him the name “Viejo” (old one).  They call him that to this day.

In 1941, he gave up book-keeping and the realm of business to devote himself to the study of the spoken and written word and the study of humanity and our social relationships.  He visited public and private libraries to read general philology, then book by book, he created his own modest library of the literatures of linguistics and social studies.

In 1942, he moved to Montevideo, Uruguay to study comparative and classical philology. For a time, he worked as a library assistant; later, he was named director of the Anglo Uruguayan Cultural Institute in the province of Dolores Soriano, Uruguay. Then in 1950, he traveled to London to study English, comparative philology, language pedagogy, and comparative education.  His philological academic exploration continued in Rio and then in Goiás, Brazil (1953 and 1956) in order to conduct research in linguistic anthropology among the Karayá people.

From 1948 to 1964, Professor Vazquez taught language and literature (Spanish/ Portuguese / English) at the Uruguay University of Technology as well as the Naval Academy in Montevideo, Uruguay.

On a warm afternoon in 1955, Washie saw a young woman playing tennis.  Captivated, he discovered she had signed up for a photography class and so he hurriedly signed up for the same class.  One year later, he married Maria, the love of his life.

In 1962, he traveled with his young family to the United States as a visiting Fulbright Scholar at the Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio.  Then in 1965, he joined the staff of Miami University as a Professor of Spanish and Portuguese language and literature.  Along with his teaching responsibilities, he was an advisor to the women’s soccer team at Miami.  In addition, every year he wrote and directed “La Máscara”, a theater-in-the round production that included both faculty and students from the Spanish department.  He so admired the arts that he always made sure to write in a part for the contemporary dance group of Miami to perform. He also enjoyed creating unique sculptures from discarded construction materials he found.  Those pieces still adorn his yard.  He retired in 1992 to concentrate on his philological notebooks and other writings.

A sample of his extensive writings include The Florez’s Saga (six notebooks including the novel El Santero), Southern Nights, Lázaro del Cuñapirú and other stories, Six Tangos and other poems, Autumn Papers, and El Fonema /s/ en el Español del Uruguay.

Washington is survived by his wife of 67 years, Maria S. Vázquez; his daughters, Isabel George and Carlota (Michael) Lowell; his grandchildren, Aaron George, Michael (Tian) George, Julianne (Logan) Hayden, and Joshua Lowell; his great-grandchildren, Lila George and Robert “Bobby” George; his siblings, Nilda Vásquez Krey and Humberto Vásquez; as well as many extended family members and former students.

Washington was preceded in death by his parents, his son-in-law, Robert P. George; his siblings, Nellis Vásquez Salzano and José Walter “Cholo” Vázquez; a nephew, Claudio Andres Amaro; and numerous close friends and colleagues.

He was kind, humble, strong; much admired and loved.  He will be greatly missed.

A private burial will be followed by a mass of intension that will be offered for Washington on Saturday, November 25 at 9:00 am at St. Mary Church in Oxford,Ohio.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Miami University's Art Museum , MS Research, or St. Mary Catholic Church .