Harold Mosher Obituary

Former Durango resident and lifelong Francophile Harold F. Mosher Jr., died on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010, in Wheatridge. He was 80.

Known as "Pat," he was born to Margaret Maskell and Harold F. Mosher Sr. on Aug. 20, 1930, in Pittsburgh.

Mr. Mosher grew up near Akron in Cuyahoga Falls and Silver Lake, Ohio, graduating from Western Reserve Academy.

After graduating from Southern Methodist University in Dallas with a bachelor's degree in English and comparative literature, Mr. Mosher served in the Navy. Reaching the rank of yeoman, he was stationed aboard ship in the Mediterranean on the staff of the commander of the 6th Fleet.

After returning to the U.S., Mr. Mosher received a doctorate in English and French literature from the University of Texas at Austin. As an English professor for more than 20 years, he taught at Northern Illinois University and at the University of Nice, France, where he taught a course on rock 'n' roll and the poetry of Bob Dylan.

On Dec. 15, 1971, he married Nicole Tres, whom he had met in France, in Sycamore, Ill. He insisted the family speak French at home so his daughters would learn the language.

While at NIU in DeKalb, Ill., Mr. Mosher taught 19th and 20th century poets and authors, specializing in Henry James and James Joyce. Among other publications, he wrote a book called Rejoycing about Joyce. He also founded a journal called Style that focused on literary review and criticism.

Mr. Mosher had an extensive library and read every day, focusing on English, American and French classics. He also collected art-history books featuring impressionist and modern painters.

He loved opera and classical music.

"My father could name anything that came on the radio within a minute's time and was almost always correct," his daughter Jessica Mosher-Knoshaug said. "He loved French singers George Brassins and Edith Piaf and actually saw her in Austin, Texas, in the 1950s, when she came from France to sing for America 'La Vie en Rose.'"

Mr. Mosher was an avid gardener, growing vegetables, flowers and fruit trees, which he planted in the espalier tradition of France. In 1990, Mr. Mosher and his family retired in Durango, where he cultivated his gardens and orchards created at his home in Timberline Estates. He built his own rock walls from stones he had personally collected in the area, using the French tradition of no cement.

In another passion, he loved trains, especially the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

The Moshers moved to Arvada three years ago.

The Moshers enjoyed spending time with the French expatriate community in Durango.

Mr. Mosher is survived by his wife of 38 years, Nicole Mosher, who taught French at Fort Lewis College for 15 years, of Arvada; daughters Jessica Mosher-Knoshaug of Golden, Nathalie Baret of Arvada, and Patricia Baret of Beverly Hills, Calif.; sister, Mary Ann Smith, of Midland Park, N.J.; and two granddaughters.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010, at the Shrine of St. Anne's Catholic Church, 7555 Grant Place in Arvada. Burial will take place Oct. 16, 2010, in Celles-sur-Plaine, Vosges, France.