Herbert Luther Bodman, Jr. died at Carolina Meadows on February 6, 2011. The loves of Herb’s life, besides his wife Taffy (deceased in 2007) and four children, were teaching students and others about the Middle East, watching Carolina basketball (both men’s and women’s), sailing (big boats and small), and traveling, especially to Maine.
Born on April 29, 1924 in New York City to Theodora Dunham Bodman and Herbert L. Bodman, Sr., he grew up in Glen Head, Long Island with his brother Ed and his sister Violet (Coffin). After completing high school at Millbrook and the Ransom Everglades School, Herb departed from the traditional family occupation in New York banking to venture south to study history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. World War I interrupted his studies. He spent three years in the army, initially training with the Anti-tank Company, 272nd Infantry Regiment, and then serving in France as a translator. After returning to UNC, he took a shine to his history Teaching Assistant, Ellen (Taffy) Diggs. She excused herself from grading his final exam, since they had become engaged halfway through the semester. He got an A anyway! While at Carolina, he swam and played soccer for the Tarheels and socially, he joined St. Anthony Hall fraternity. Herb graduated with a B.A. in History with Honors in May, and he and Taffy were married on August 9, 1947 in Northampton, Massachusetts.
For the next twelve years, Taffy and Herb moved from Princeton University, where he received his PhD. in Islamic History, to Beirut, Lebanon, where he taught and did research for his dissertation, then to McGill University in Montreal, Canada. In the process, they bore four children: Carlie, Whit, David and Lydia. Herb had his first stint at teaching at the American University in Beirut and then McGill University. Afterwards he spent five years working for the U.S. Information Agency on the Middle East Desk in Washington D.C. The teaching bug caught him and in 1960, with four children in tow, he took a job as professor of Middle East History at Carolina, a job he enjoyed until his retirement in 1989.
Chapel Hill offered the Bodmans a time to settle down and become involved in the community. The UNC Campus Y was an obvious match for Herb’s passion for international culture and he served as a board member for many years. While his children attended Durham Academy, he guided the school as a board member. In the summer of 1964, Herb led a student group to Niger as part of the Crossroads Africa project.
Although not on the eastern shore, the small lakes of North Carolina offered Herb the opportunity to return to his childhood passion for sailing. But the oceans kept calling, and the boats grew bigger, and with 4 children and 8 grandchildren and eager students, he could enlist plenty of crew. His passion extended to serving as crew, sailing to England on a square-rigger in 21 days. By the time they arrived, Herb was sick and tired of eating peanut butter, one of the captain’s main staple foods. Courageously, he also crewed for his son, Whit. The shores of Maine kept calling as well, and during the 1970s, Herb and Taffy would pack up the family and live on a boat for several weeks each summer, cruising the cold waters of Maine. He grew to know all the coves and crannies of Maine’s rocky coast, always stopping to see cousins on Mount Desert Island and delight in the Jordon Pond popovers and blueberry pie.
During the academic year, Herb passed his passion and knowledge of sailing onto students and community members through the High Rock Yacht Club, Lake Townsend Yacht club and the Carolina Sailing Club, where he served as Commodore for many years. After retiring from UNC, and moving to the Carolina Meadows, one could often find him working on his boat and then donning a wet suit to sail on Lake Jordon in the cold months. You just could not keep him from the water and his boats! He also became a certified racing official, judging races up and down the east coast.
Herb and Taffy worked extensively with The Middle East Studies Association (MESA) and the Southeast Regional Middle East and Islamic Studies Society (SERMEISS), mentoring high school teachers and encouraging others in the study of Islamic societies. He directed the Islamic Teaching materials project, which included a bibliography, filmography, maps books and other teaching resources for high school and college courses. He co-edited Women in Islamic Societies and wrote numerous book reviews.
Herb passed on his love of Carolina basketball to his four children Carlie Martin, Whit Bodman, David Bodman, and Lydia Vandenbergh; his eight grandchildren: Trevor Hughes and Lindsay McKinnon, Noah and Elizabeth Bodman, Christina and Alex Vandenbergh, and Clarissa and Ben Bodman; and two great-grandchildren, Patrick and Logan McKinnon. Bearing his “Beat FSU” pin, he made sure of Carolina’s win against Florida State before drawing his last breath. A great Tarheel fan to the end. He had his priorities straight!
A memorial service will be held at Carolina Meadows on Saturday, February 12, 2011 at 11am; in lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the UNC Campus Y, Box 5115, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 27599.
