Aldridge Bousfield Obituary

Bousfield, Aldridge K. "Peter"

Aldridge Knight "Peter" Bousfield died in Chicago on October 4, 2020, at age 79. He was the beloved husband of the late Marie Bousfield. Peter is survived by his dear sister, Brenda "Wendy" Bousfield, and his cousins, Jamie Beranek and Thomas Haynes. Born in Boston to Weston and Thelma Knight Bousfield on April 5, 1941, he grew up in Storrs, Connecticut, and graduated from Windham High School in 1958. Peter studied at MIT, where he excelled in mathematics, earning a doctorate in 1966. His first position was as a mathematics professor at Brandeis University (1966-1972), where he met Marie Vastersavendts, who was visiting from Belgium after completing her doctorate at the Free University of Brussels. They were married in 1968 and in 1972 moved to Chicago. Peter joined the Mathematics Department of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Marie became the demographer for the City of Chicago. A dedicated teacher and researcher, Peter authored numerous publications, received mathematical grants from the National Science Foundation, and was named a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. Conducting groundbreaking research in the field of algebraic topology, Peter is remembered for the Bousfield-Kan spectral sequence and Bousfield localization. Praised by colleagues for the elegance and clarity of his lectures and for his unassuming nature, he retired as Professor Emeritus in 2000. Peter and Marie enjoyed Chicago's rich cultural life, especially art, theater, and opera. Besides participating in activities of Chicago's Belgian-American community, Peter and Marie were lifelong learners, pursuing such diverse subjects as the classification of grasses, world affairs, Chicago architecture, and duets on their recorders. As he wished, Peter will be buried without visitation or a memorial service. Donations in his memory may be sent to the UIC College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

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