Necrology
Because Hamilton Remembers
Rouben Charles Cholakian
Sep. 24, 2025
Burgess Professor of Romance Languages and Literature Emeritus Rouben Charles Cholakian, who taught courses in Renaissance and Medieval French literature on College Hill for more than 30 years, died on Sept. 24, 2025.
Born on July 9, 1932, in Hartford, Conn., Rouben arrived on College Hill in 1963 along with his personal and professional life partner, Patricia Francis Cholakian. Fellow Francophiles, they met as undergraduates at Bates College and married in 1955. Rouben subsequently earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Columbia University while teaching French at the Pingry School. From 1960 to 1963, he taught at the University of Virginia before the couple both headed north to join the Hamilton faculty.
A prolific scholar, Rouben authored dozens of articles, reviews, textbooks, anthologies, and books including The Bayeux Tapestry and the Ethos of War (1998) and The Troubadour Lyric: A Psychocritical Reading (1990). He also authored, edited, and translated a number of other publications, several with his wife, including Marguerite de Navarre: Mother of the Renaissance (2005). Pat was an internationally recognized scholar of Renaissance and 17th-century French women writers and gender.
As a hobby, Rouben sang tenor in the College’s Oratorio Society and participated in theatrical productions. He directed Hamilton’s Junior Year in France program seven times, which inspired his 2000 novel Murder on the Junior Year in France. It takes place during the 1968 student revolt in Paris and centers on a travel director and his wife who are called upon to solve the murder of one of their students.
Rouben retired from Hamilton in 1996, and Pat followed two years later. They moved to New York City where they took advantage of the city’s cultural offerings and enjoyed visits from friends in Clinton, as well as occasionally from former students. They also continued to pursue their scholarship.
Rouben C. Cholakian is survived by a daughter. His beloved wife predeceased him in 2003.
Note: Memorial biographies published prior to 2004 will not appear on this list.
Necrology Writer and Contact:
Christopher Wilkinson '68
Email: Chris.Wilkinson@mail.wvu.edu
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