WKU News

The WKU Department of History is sad to share that our friend, colleague, and former Department Head, Dr. Richard Troutman, passed away a short while ago at the age of 89.

Dick served as our Department Head from 1972 to 1998, and after his retirement was still among us for morning coffee and writing personal thank you notes to our donors. His work, The Heavens Are Weeping: The Diaries of George Richard Browder, 1852-1886, was published in 1987 and appeared in a Kindle edition a few years ago. Many of you will remember Dick as a devoted teacher and mentor. Thousands of students learned history in Dick’s classroom, and he continued to teach for almost two decades after his retirement.

Dick is survived by his wife, Merle; son, Mark; daughters, Annie and Betsy; and all of his family, friends, and former students.

Please see Dick’s obituary in the Bowling Green Daily News. Dick asked that expressions of sympathy be made in his honor to the Department of History; if you wish to do so, you can either visit our donation page or write to us at the Department mailing address.

Dick led the History Department into the modern era. Dick’s wonderful legacy is evident every day on the second floor of Cherry Hall. We owe him a lot, and we will miss him.