obituaries
Warren Loud, a man of letters - and numbers
- Article by: TIM HARLOW , Star Tribune
- Updated: January 26, 2010 - 9:33 PM
He was a favorite in the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company and of U of M math students.
Warren S. Loud
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Warren S. Loud was a fan favorite of those who attended productions of the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company in Minneapolis, and news of his death saddened those who had watched him star in lead and supporting roles for nearly 30 years.
Loud, 88, died of pneumonia Jan. 15 at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, sparking a wave of tributes to the man who earned a following in such productions as "Iolanthe" in 1981 and 2004, "The Sorcerer" in 1985, "The Gondoliers" in 1994 and most recently in the "The Mikkado" in 2007 before declining health forced him off the stage.
One e-mail sent to the company read: "It must be hard for you. We've been coming for years, and we feel your loss."
"He was a good singer and good partner to be matched up with on stage," said chorus member Holly Windle. "He was definitely a company favorite."
Loud also was a favorite at the University of Minnesota, where he taught mathematics for 45 years.
His specialty was ordinary differential equations, but he also taught calculus, a math class for elementary education majors and other courses for undergraduates from 1945 to 1991. He also advised several Ph.D. candidates, said his wife of 62 years, Mary Lou, of Minneapolis.
He was associate chairman of the math department in the 1960s, and was the founder and adviser of the university's math team, which participated in the Putnam Mathematical Competition, an Olympiad-style contest for the nation's brightest math students.
He also served on the contest's examination committee and drew up problems that were included on national tests, said retired math professor James Serrin.
"He had a sharp mind," Serrin said. "He took great interest in his students. He was very thorough, and in lectures went through things very carefully."
Loud, who received the Institute of Technology Alumni Society's Outstanding Teaching Award in 1979, was a respected scholar in the field of ordinary differential equations, and was invited to speak at the 1961 International Congress of Mathematicians in Kiev, Serrin said. He also was a guest lecturer at universities in Italy, Germany and Japan.
Loud, who earned undergraduate and doctorate degrees in math from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was a "renaissance and well-cultured man" who was well-read and a faithful 44-year choir member at Plymouth Congregational Church in south Minneapolis, said director Philip Brunelle.
He also served on the church's boards of religious education and fine arts, as well as the board of deacons, his wife said.
Loud's interests also included public transportation. He took the bus to the university, and on weekends explored the Twin Cities by taking different Metro Transit routes.
He also traveled to all 50 states and to 34 countries, Serrin said. On weekends he enjoyed taking long hikes, especially along the route of the Twin Cities Marathon from Minneapolis to St. Paul, his wife said.
In addition to his wife, Loud is survived by two daughters, Margaret McCamant of Chicago and Beth Liebman of Evanston, Ill.; a son, John, of Madison, Wis.; a brother, Alden Loud, of Morris, Conn., and four grandchildren.
Services have been held.
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