TOM DRIVER
1
They tell me that Tom Driver died
It is not so. It is not so.
Even were there no afterlife
He would live on. He would live on
2
Tom Driver was a friend of mine
He could converse. He could converse.
I hope we’ll talk many more times
Perhaps with Pierce. Perhaps with Peirce.
3
We never got to talk again
But that’s alright. But that’s alright.
Last time we talked he spoke of then
He had clear sight. He had clear sight.
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RECEIVED TODAY
From Union Theological Seminary
It is with great sadness that we share that we have learned the Rev. Dr. Tom Driver has died. Tom was the Paul Tillich Professor of Theology and Culture Emeritus at Union, where he taught from 1957–1993, however his impact extended far beyond our institution. He was always intentional to hold his scholarship in tension with the world beyond the academy, and was a leading voice speaking out against the Vietnam War, and laboring in the struggle for feminism and civil rights. “Tom wasn’t just a professor,” says President Serene Jones, “He was a prophet in the fullest sense. His fierce commitment to truth, beauty and justice represent the very best of what Christianity can offer the world — and the very best of what it means to be human.”
His work drew upon a fabulously diverse array of intellectual pursuits, from theatre and ethics to homiletics and Gestalt psychology. Well before interdisciplinary became a buzzword, Tom embodied that ethos throughout his life. He deftly wove theatre, ritual and theology in ways that nurtured generations of ministers to consider the world in new dimensions. And in addition to his many books and articles, he brought those gifts to fervent peace activism in countries like Haiti and Colombia. He is survived by his wonderful wife Anne, and their children Katharine Anne, Paul and Susannah.
They ask, in lieu of flowers, that donations be sent to Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, the Institute for Democracy and Justice in Haiti, or the National Religious Campaign against Torture.
