Fred Homer, a political science professor at the University of Wyoming, died of heart failure on January 1, 2006, at the age of 66.

Fred was born on Long Island on June 9, 1939. He married his high school sweetheart Carole Krane in 1961. That year he also received his A.B. in economics from Rutgers University. While at Rutgers he played basketball and throughout his life maintained an active interest in competitive sports of all kinds.

Prior to entering academe, Fred served as a first lieutenant in the Army and subsequently worked for a short stint as an accountant at Price Waterhouse. However, his real interest was in academe, specifically political philosophy. In the mid-1960s, he began studying for his Ph.D. at Indiana University under the tutelage of Charles Hyneman and graduated in 1970. After receiving his degree, Fred taught at Purdue University until 1974.

In 1974, he began teaching at the University of Wyoming, where in his early years there he established the Administration of Justice Program, which he chaired for 10 years. Today, the renamed Criminal Justice Program is one of the most popular degrees at the University of Wyoming. He also served as the head of the political science department from 1976 to 1979 and as acting head of the journalism and telecommunications department from 1986 to 1987.

Fred was an outstanding teacher. He was noted for his ability to inspire his students through his use of the Socratic Method. He taught the political science department's Introduction to Political Thought; a course on Political Violence that examined, in particular, the Holocaust; several senior seminars on political philosophy; and, in recent years, a very popular course on city politics. Throughout his career, he won many awards that honored his teaching, including the Ellbogen Teaching Award, the Case Wyoming Professor of the Year Award, and the Alumni Teaching Award.

Fred Homer was also a prolific researcher, with four books to his credit. Early in his career, he wrote Guns and Garlic: Myths and Realities of Organized Crime, which won recognition from the American Scholar as one of the best social science books by university presses in 1974–1975. He also wrote Character: An Individualistic Theory of Politics in 1983, which later guided him in his political career in city politics. His book Interpretation of Illness, published in 1988, examined what he believed is often the psychological reason for physical illnesses. His last book Primo Levi and the Politics of Survival, published in 2001, pursued his life-long interest in the Holocaust.

In recent years, he also wrote articles on university politics, one of which appeared in this journal. He also recently wrote articles that appeared in Humanity and Society, Journal of Public Administration Education, and Public Administration and Management. In addition, he wrote a short story published in Public Voices.

Fred was very active in his community. At an age when many people are retiring, Fred chose instead to run for public office. In 2000, he was elected to the Laramie, Wyoming, City Council, where he was subsequently elected by his peers to be vice mayor, a position he held from 2000–2002. In 2002, he became mayor, a position he held from 2002–2004. During his tenure as mayor, he was instrumental in bringing about a smoking ban in public places and also in building the city's recreational center.

Fred is survived by his wife Carole; his son Scott and wife Chanisa and their daughter Esther; his son Marc and wife Azize and their son Rafael Ozan; and his daughter Laurie and husband Rodney Wambeam and their three children London, Hazel, and Ruby.

The University of Wyoming has established the Fred Homer Memorial Fund, the endowment of which will further the teaching of political philosophy at the University. Those who would like to contribute to the Fund should send a check made out to the University of Wyoming Foundation to the following address: