Asher, Frederick M. "Rick" died June 26, 2021 after successfully battling four cancers. The loss is immeasurable, especially to his wife of 52 years, Cathy, who was also his professional colleague and very closest friend. His children, Tom and Alice, and daughter-in-law, Dana, made him unbelievably proud, as did his grandchildren: Francesca, Fergus, and Imogen. Rick felt privileged to teach and mentor students, both graduate and undergraduate, at the University of Minnesota and to work with colleagues in the Art History Department and around the world. His sense of adventure and love of travel took him far and wide, and he was planning adventures until his very last day. He served for many years as the Chair of the Department of Art History and also as an Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. He had the good fortune of serving in several professional roles: President and Board Chair of the American Institute of Indian Studies and President of the US National Committee for the History of Art and as a founding parent of the American Council for Southern Asian Art. His honors included the Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award and the Distinguished Contributions to Asian Studies awarded by the Association for Asian Studies. Committed to scholarship, in recent years, he received two Fulbrights, and only stopped world travels at the start of the pandemic. In addition to Cathy, Tom, Alice, Dana, and his grandchildren, Rick is also survived by his sisters, Alice and Debbie, his brothers-in-law, Herb and Michael, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins, all greatly beloved. With considerable exaggeration, Rick claimed to be able to recognize the voice of any opera singer from the beginning of recorded voices to about 1990. A few Russian and Bulgarian singers escaped him.
Published on June 29, 2021