Saturday, November 14, 2026
Egbert, “Bert,” Krispyn was born June 14, 1930, in Haarlem, Netherlands. He died in Naples, Florida, on June 6, 2023. His brother, Henri Louis Krispijn, and his parents Henriette and Piet Krispijn preceded him in death.
From 1948 – 1951, Bert worked in the rice and rubber trades in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. After moving to Australia, he did clerical, newspaper, and teaching work while attending the University of Melbourne. He earned his B.A. hons in Germanic Studies in 1957, and his M.A. in 1958.
With the help of various stipends, including grants from the Alexander von Humboldt Institute, he conducted graduate work in Melbourne, Netherlands and Germany.
Bert settled in the U.S. as a permanent resident in 1961, and was naturalized in 1970.
From 1961 – 1963 he was Lecturer and graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, and earned his Ph.D. in Germanic Languages and Literatures in 1963.
He was an Assistant Professor of German at the University of Florida from 1963-1964. He returned to the University of Pennsylvania in 1964 and was promoted to Associate Professor. He also directed the Language Laboratory from 1964-1967.
In 1968 Bert returned to the University of Florida as Full Professor and Chairman of the Department of German and Slavic Languages.
He moved to the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages at the University of Georgia in 1972. While at Georgia he served on numerous committees, including the Faculty Senate.
In 1984 he was given a joint appointment with the Department of Comparative Literature. He later became Head of that department and established successful programs in both Chinese and Japanese languages and literature. He retired in 1990 and was named Professor Emeritus.
Upon retirement Bert and his wife Jeanette Lee Atkinson moved to Florida where they spent many hours boating - first in Biscayne Bay and Everglades National Park. Bert was a skilled sailor, and after their move to SW Florida in 1992, he and Jeanette avidly explored the near-shore Gulf waters and backwaters of the Upper 10,000 Islands in a series of small sailboats.
During his academic career, in addition to being a popular teacher and mentor, Bert published a monograph, 4 scholarly books and an annotated facsimile edition of two 17th century dramas. He also published well over 100 articles, book introductions, and book reviews, and presented many professional papers and guest lectures in the U.S., Austria, Belgium and Germany. He was on the editorial board of several scholarly journals and was Editor of the Library of Netherlandic Literature for Twayne Publications.
Always creative, Bert developed interdisciplinary courses, German language instruction for Georgia Educational TV, and innovative teaching schedules, which benefited both faculty and students. Beyond being a literary scholar and skilled editor, he had a lifelong love of language itself. He was fluent In Dutch, German, French and English, and read extensively in Spanish. He was known both professionally and in retirement for his keen intelligence and ready wit.
Apart from his professional activities, Bert had an abiding interest in early keyboard musical instruments, especially the clavichord, and he traveled to European museums to research them. He also built several clavichords, including instruments for contemporary keyboard artists.
He was a skilled carpenter generally, and in retirement he built both a small sailboat and a dedicated rowing boat. He appreciated the natural world and was as happy in a Georgia swamp or the Florida mangroves as in a theater or concert hall.
Egbert Krispyn is survived by his first wife, Joan Willings Krispyn and their son, Hugo Joost Krispyn, and by his current spouse, Jeanette Lee Atkinson.
