Jack Raper

Dr. Julius “Jack” Rowan Raper III was a passionate scholar, author, husband, partner, father, and grandfather. He passed away peacefully on January 1, 2022 in Chapel Hill, NC. Married twice and in a long-term partnership when he passed, Jack never showed fear in his relationships.

He was born to Julius and Emma Raper in 1938. After graduating from the UNC, Duke and Northwestern with honors and a PhD in literature, he chased his dreams abroad as a Fullbright Visiting Professor at two universities in Greece and by traveling extensively throughout Europe and neighboring countries. These experiences provided the inspiration for three fictional novels he authored later in his life.

During his tenure as a professor of English and American Literature at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill he left a lasting impression on the lives of many students and colleagues. He was an active scholar of the works of Ellen Glasgow and Lawrence Durrell, and an accomplished author publishing many scholarly books and articles in a writing career spanning 48 years.

He was also passionate for psychoanalysis, which he fulfilled through participation and leadership of groups focused on the analytical techniques created by renowned Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, who founded analytical psychology, and dream analysis.

A memorial service will be held online in March 2022. Private interment will occur later at Cotton Grove United Methodist Church in Lexington, N.C. For more information or to express condolences, please contact his daughter at rowanne@yahoo.com. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the C.G. Jung Society of the Triangle or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill English Department Gift Fund.