Pilar González Sáenz passed away peacefully on October 6, 2018, at Brighton Gardens of Friendship Heights assisted living facility in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Born in 1927 in Madrid, Spain, she was raised and educated there, receiving a Licenciatura from the University of Madrid. In 1954, she moved to the U.S. to continue her studies, earning an M.A. at Bryn Mawr College and a Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, College Park with a focus on philology and Spanish literature. Dr. Saenz was active professionally and received a number of awards and grants, contributed to professional journals, was active in the Spanish community of Washington, DC, and taught at Case Western Reserve University and various institutions in the Washington, DC area. She was President of the Academic Association for the Quincentenary 1492-1992, organized under the auspices of the Spanish embassy to commemorate the 500-year presence of Spain on this continent. She retired from the Department of Romance Languages and Literature, George Washington University, in 1998 as Professor Emeritus. Dr. Saenz was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, Albert W. Saenz, Ph.D., and her parents and siblings and is survived by a niece and nephew in Madrid.
Published in The Washington Post on Nov. 27, 2018