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William Victor ("Victor") Wortley (1929-2008) was a native of Northern Ireland. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1959, his Master of Arts degree in 1961, and his Doctor of Philsophy degree in 1964 all from the University of Oregon. He served the faculty of the University of Washington as a professor of French in the Department of Romance Languages and Literature from 1965-1991. He taught courses in 16th and 17th century French literature, specializing in Rabelais and Molière. Wortley was also a writer himself, and published a number of short stories as well as a translation of the diaries of Father Rossi, an Italian cleric and early settler of the Pacific Northwest. Wortley was a friend of and correspondent with the poet Seamus Heaney, the playwright J.B. Keane, and the Irish travel writer Dervla Murphy.