Marion Montgomery Jr., a writer, poet, literary critic and former University professor, died in his home in Crawford Wednesday.

Montgomery, an English professor at the University for 33 years, specialized in southern literature. He was well known for his literary criticism and close friendship of fellow southern writer, Flannery O’Connor. Jonathan Evans, a professor in English and director of the medieval studies program, remembers their friendship.

“He had a very wry, sardonic sort of wit that matched Flannery O’Connor’s,” he said. “So he was well-suited to the specialized subject of his research.”

But Montgomery’s interest spread far beyond that of his specialized field.

“Though he probably struck outsiders as something of a provincial, maybe even a kind of rustic savant, he was in fact broadly learned in ways that I think the hyper specialization of our field makes increasingly difficult for people of academic standing,” Evans said.

Evans said he was extremely productive in his writing as well, which varied as much as his interests.

“I would be hard-pressed to find anyone in our department who has been here in the last 40 years who has been more productive than he was,” he said.

Jim Kibler, a retired professor in English and a former colleague of Montgomery’s, called Montgomery “a man of letters.”

Besides his prolific work as a writer and as a scholar, Evans and Kibler remember Montgomery as being humble, hospitable and kind.

Evans met Montgomery during his first interview at the University in 1984.

“Marion himself did not have a Ph. D.,” Evans said. “And he was not particularly impressed by anything resembling false sophistication or intellectual arrogance that sometimes accompanies the achievement of higher degrees.”

Kibler called Montgomery an agrarian writer – an artist from an agrarian caste, which the two men shared in common.

Evans and Kibler both recalled the Montgomery’s home in Crawford where they often entertained family and friends.

“As a human being, he was extremely welcoming and warm toward visitors,” Evans said. “He and Dorothy, his wife, entertained guests, acquaintances, friends and strangers at their small plantation in Crawford with great enthusiasm.”

Kibler hopes that members of the Athens as well as the literary community beyond will appreciate the great amount of work Montgomery did in his time here.

“He was very modest and he never got the kind of recognition, locally, that he should have,” Kibler said.  “It needs saying; he’s more important than local people realize.”

Montgomery’s funeral was on Saturday and he is now buried at Crawford Cemetery.

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Memorial gifts can be made at St. Stephen’s Anglican Catholic Church Mission Fund: Children’s Homes, 800 Timothy Road, Athens, GA, 30606.