WATERTOWN, NY — Walter Terry King Nugent was born on Jan. 11, 1935, in Watertown, NY. He was the first child of Clarence and Florence King Nugent.
He died September 8, 2021, at U.W. Northwest Hospital in Seattle, Wash., surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren.
He was the loving husband of author Suellen Hoy. He is also survived by a sister, Mary Rose Atkinson (Joseph Behrends), Urbana, Illinois; a brother, George Nugent (Marilyn Nugent), Watertown, New York; his children, Katherine (Alan Yngve), Rachel (Brian Baird), David, Douglas (Ellen Mondress), Terry and Mary; eight grandchildren and two great-granddaughters.
Mr. Nugent was Professor Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame since 2000. Prior to Notre Dame, he was Professor of History, among other positions, at the University of Indiana until 1984. He began his teaching career at Kansas State University and at Washburn University of Topeka. He taught and lived in England, Ireland, Israel, Germany and Poland. He authored and co-authored many books on the topics of American westward migration, populism and demography.
His book, Making Our Way, was a family history of the Nugents and Kings migration to Watertown. He had a great love of the Flower Memorial Library, in his words, “our magnificent library.”
Mr. Nugent received multiple awards and recognitions throughout the world including the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Beinecke Fellowship, the Warsaw University Medal of Merit and two Fulbright Awards. He was also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York from 1984 to 1999.
Donations may be made to the Indiana University Archives, 1320 E. Tenth St., Bloomington, Indiana 47405.