People of Faith CT

I Want To Tell You About A Friend
by Susan Campbell
Hartford Courant
April 22, 2009

The Rev. Dr. Carl S. Dudley died at his Hartford home this morning after a two-year battle with amyloidosis.

His upcoming obituary will tell you the details of his life, his years of teaching at Hartford Seminary, his time as co-director of Hartford Institute for Religion Research, and his impressive scholastic credentials.

I want to talk about the gentle man who'd stride down the halls of
the seminary and through the stacks of the library on the lookout
for someone with whom he could strike up a conversation. It didn't
matter the conversational partner or topic. Carl could and would talk
to any body, and invariably, he'd leave those conversations with a new
admirer.

I know. I watched him do it.

Carl didn't just teach. He imbued his lessons with humor and
humanity. First there'd be the twinkle in his eye, and then there'd be
the punchline, and the lesson that followed was more often than not --
and I don't use this word lightly -- profound.

Am I gushing? I don't mean to. But if you weren't blessed to know Carl, read his essay on his rare illness here.

Leave it to Carl to turn even heartache into a teachable moment, and
know that in his last months and weeks, he didn't sit still, but
remained an active and vital member of the extensive seminary
community, as well as his beloved West End neighborhood.

He will be sorely missed -- by his loving family, his legion of friends, and those of us lucky enough to call him "Teacher."