William Paul Lundell (1956–2025)
It is with sadness that we report the loss of William Lundell.
It is with great sadness that we write to report the death, after a brief period of illness, of William (Bill) Paul Lundell in Sackville, New Brunswick, on 28 April 2025 at the age of 69. William was born on 6 April 1956 in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Lowell Lundell and Sally Ulmer Lundell; he is survived by his sisters, Susan Lundell Sloan and Sharon Lundell Walton, and by Sharon’s husband Richard Walton and their daughter Candace Mae Walton.
Bill grew up in South Wales, New York, where his father taught at the college-preparatory Gow School, and attended primary school in a two-room schoolhouse. Both facts presage what become central themes of his later professional and, indeed, personal life: as an Associate Professor of History at Mt. Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, a university preeminent among Canadian institutions for its emphasis on a liberal-arts undergraduate education, Bill always gravitated toward the idea of education as a “contact sport,” as he liked to call it, that keeps students and instructors in close personal contact with one another. He taught at Mt. Allison for nearly a quarter of a century (2001–2025) and served as Head of the Department of History for seven years (2011–2018).
Bill received his BA in History from Hope College (Holland, Michigan) in 1978, his MSL from PIMS in 1989, and his PhD in Medieval Studies from the University of Toronto in 1996. His Licentiate and Doctoral theses were written under the supervision of the renowned medieval historian Jocelyn N. Hillgarth and were entitled “Jean Gerson and the Religious Education of Youth in the Fifteenth Century” and “Carthusian Policy and the Council of Basel,” respectively. The subtlety and precision that were his own scholarly trademarks were among the qualities he endeavoured to instill in his students. A passionate and dedicated teacher of Medieval and Renaissance history with a special interest in the idea of reform, Bill always put his students first. He will be sorely missed by them, as by his family and friends.
In accordance with William’s wishes, service and burial will be private. Arrangements by Campbell’s Funeral Home of Sackville, New Brunswick, and F.E. Brown Sons Funeral Home of Orchard Park, New York. In lieu of flowers, donations in William’s memory may be made to the charity of one’s choice. Share online condolences and memories with the family.
JOHN MAGEE
Professor Emeritus, Classics and Medieval Studies, University of Toronto