I write to inform you of the death of Gabriel (Gabe) Berns, Professor of Literature Emeritus. Gabe was a Cowell College "founding fellow," arriving at UCSC in 1965, the year the campus opened. He taught courses in Spanish literature of the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly poetry; literature of exile and of the Spanish Civil War; and the theory and practice of literary translation.
As well as his teaching accomplishments, he was active as a translator of Spanish literature, most notably the work of Rafael Alberti, "The Lost Grove: Autobiography of a Spanish Poet in Exile" published by the University of California Press in 1976, and including a splendid Preface.
He earned his Ph.D. in Romance Languages (Spanish) from Ohio State University in 1968 and taught in Costa Rica, Madrid, and Monterrey, Mexico before joining UCSC as an Acting Assistant Professor of Spanish Language and Literature in 1965. Gabe retired from UCSC in 1991.
After retirement, Gabe worked indefatigably as a translator in San Francisco for people who lacked English language skills and who needed assistance with immigration and other business matters. For all his scholarly and humanistic accomplishments, Gabe will be remembered best by his friends as a charming, generous and delightful colleague.
His widow, Arlette, and sons, Cris and Joshua, have indicated, following Gabe's wishes, that there will be no memorial service or formal obituary.
On behalf of the campus, I extend our sympathy to Gabe's family and pay tribute to his long career at UCSC and to his deep commitment to his many students.
