William Henry Greenway 1947-2023

EPHRATA, Pa. — William Henry Greenway, 76, passed away peacefully Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, in Lancaster, Pa. He had been a professor in Youngstown State University’s English Department for more than three decades.

William was born in Smyrna, Georgia, in 1947. He received his Ph.D. from Tulane University, where he wrote his dissertation on the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, which he later published as a book. At YSU, William was a distinguished poet, publishing more than a dozen volumes of verse during his career and contributing often to Poetry, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious poetry magazine. He taught classes in poetry, poetry writing, and British literature after WWII, among others and was much loved by his students. William was also an outstanding musician; he wrote songs, sang and played guitar for the band Brady’s Leap. He was a frequent traveler to Wales and to Sanibel, Florida, where he loved to fish.

He leaves behind his loving wife, Mindi, and their daughter, Rosalee.

William had a delightful sense of humor and a deeply warm heart, and he will be missed by friends and colleagues everywhere. A memorial reading will be held locally in the Spring.

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