In Memoriam: Sudha Shenoy 1943-2008

As Sinclair Davidson notes in the comments, Julie Novak is reporting at her blog that Sudha Shenoy has died after a bout with cancer.  Julie's obituary provides all the relevant information on Sudha and her career.  Sudha was everything Julie says she is and more.  She was truly one of the founders of the Austrian revival. Although she never published with the frequency of many of the other South Royalton attendees, she was active and was also a member and frequent commenter over at Liberty and Power.  Her knowledge of history, especially European economic history, seemed endless and her training as an Austrian economist enabled her to see things in that history that others often overlooked.  She was also one of the loudest classical liberal voices against the American imperialism of the last few years.

But above all of that, she was "old school" in all the best senses of the term.  She was a scholar and a gentlewoman, and she was fun to be around.  Those of you who attended last fall's SDAE session looking back at the early years of the Austrian revival may recall Roger Garrison's reminiscences, including Sudha's dip in the pool.  My own favorite memory is what a good sport Sudha was when a group of us a few years ago (perhaps it was in San Antonio?) decided to go out to dinner at a barbecue place.  It was decidedly not her scene, but she came along, found some things she could eat, and had a great time I think.  It was also one of the few chances I really had to chat with her one-on-one as we sat at the same end of a long table.  It was a great experience.

Rest in peace Sudha and thanks for all that you have done to help put Austrian economics where it is today.

Comments

[Steve Miller]

I feel lucky to have met her.

[aje]

Here's my brief obit.
[http://thefilter.blogs.com/thefilter/2008/06/sudha-shenoy-19.html]

A great loss to the world of ideas. RIP

[Sheldon Richman]

She was a wonderful person, besides being a true scholar and champion of freedom.

[Adam Martin]

Sudha was the guest of honor at our first Hayek Memorial Pot Luck Dinner. She suffered through a spontaneously ordered dinner of lamb, macaroni and cheese, and taco bell, and we had a blast with her.

[Sandy Ikeda]

I'm shocked...I had no idea she was so ill. Sudha was indeed "old school" in the good sense of the term: learned and precise in her language, fierce and indomitable in argument, but always willing to listen. She often called herself as a "Buddhist Whig," a description that I personally liked a lot. She took her work and classical liberalism (and her Buddhism) deeply seriously, but was also warm-hearted, fun to be around, and had a hearty laugh. I always felt uplifted when I saw her and now I'll miss her very, very much.

Gassho

[Austrio-Libertarian]

I met Sudha when she sat at our table at an Austrian Scholars Conference in Auburn. She was dressed in typical Indian attire. She was deeply engaging and, at the same time, fun. Later during that conference, I heard her lecture dealing with capital structure.

She captured my interest and when I got back home I "googled" and read some of her work and things about her life.

It is indeed sad to learn of her passing. I imagine that she would have been a wonderful person to know.

[Mario Rizzo]

I remember Sudha Shenoy way back to the Austrian revival conference at South Royalton more than thirty years ago. She was a fine human being: kind, funny, smart. She was also a very well-informed libertarian. She knew the tradition well and understood that it goes way beyond the narrowly economic domain. She understood the great threat to liberty inherent in war -- whether in Iraq or in the "war on terror." She was an excellent economic historian who had much to teach Austrian economists. I wish I had kept in better contact with her in recent years. But I will always remember her with great affection.