Arthur Pomeroy

Pomeroy, Arthur John

Emeritus Professor of Classics. Passed away on 7 January 2025, aged 71. A memorial service to celebrate Arthur’s life will be held at Lychgate Chapel, cnr Aro & Willis Streets, Aro Valley, Wellington on Wednesday 12 March 2025 at 4:30pm. A private cremation has been held.

In lieu of flowers, donations to SPCA New Zealand would be appreciated and can be made online at https://www.spca.nz/donate. Tributes and memories may be made online at www.lychgate.co.nz/upcoming-funerals or posted c/- 306 Willis St, Aro Valley, Wellington, 6011.

TRIBUTES

Dean Martucci

Art – a mensch extraordinaire.
Our world is so less now.
Rest with the kitties, my friend

Nikki Carter

Art was someone who constantly surprised me in the best of ways. As a lecturer, he had a way of presenting that always kept me on my toes and having to muffle a laugh. I found his humour warm and the timing of said humour impeccable. He was the source of many quotes that even today I use more often than I should. On a recent trip to Pompeii, my fiancé and I were constantly quoting Art throughout the trip – a particular favourite being “you know you’ve got a problem when there is an octopus coming out of your toilet”. We were especially excited to send Art a picture of the infamous Pan and Goat statue he tried to traumatise us with in a lecture 10 years before – such was the timelessness and impact his teaching and humour had.
I was then blessed to have worked next to Art when I was the administrator for Classics. He gave me this job after three sentences – He asked “Are you gainfully employed” I said yes. He asked “Happily?” I replied no. He then said “Would you like to be” I said yes. He just did a slow nod and said “ok” and next thing I knew, I was employed. He gave me a chance and for that I will always be grateful. He was one of the hardest workers I’ve had the pleasure to know – to say I was inspired by the grace and humour in which he did his work would be an understatement, especially as we worked together during a particularly difficult time in Classics. No matter how busy he was or how many things he had to do, he always made the time to check in and make sure myself and others around him were ok. The number of cat pictures and videos was wonderfully distracting and welcomed, and an impromptu screening of looney tunes during work time to cheer us both up remains one of my fondest memories.
His kindness, humour, and his love of classics made him both a role model and a great friend. Art has always been and will always be an incredibly important person to me and he will be dearly missed.

Doug Pomeroy

Arthur Brother ,
We all miss you
Doug ,Neneth ,Juanita Boe and Cal

Isabel Sheat

Like many, I knew Art as a professor of classics. In my second year of university, Art taught me Roman Social History – a topic on which he literally wrote the book.  My friends and family (and, truth be told, any stranger good natured enough to allow me to talk their ear off) can attest to the fact that Art taught one of my favourite lectures of all time; in 2017, he taught me that a relaxing of Egypt’s religious trading laws saw cats increase in popularity in Rome. The influx of cats and the Roman appreciation of their many attractions saw cats become the rodent-catchers of choice in Rome. This in turn had disastrous consequences for Rome’s domestic weasel trade. This fact has stuck with me where so many other lessons in philosophy and law have vacated my brain forever.
I regret deeply that I let my awkwardness stop me getting to know Art better during my postgraduate studies, and later as a member of the Wellington Classics Association. I will feel his absence whenever I see Gladiator or 300, or whenever someone inadvertently mentions weasels around me. I can only imagine the hole that he will leave in the lives of those who knew him far better than I did.
While I cannot attend his memorial service in person, my thoughts will be with his loved ones.

Tim Parkin

As all of us who were lucky enough to know Arthur appreciate, Arthur was an amazing person: brilliant, quirky, fun, sometimes infuriating, often weird, never boring, always Arthur. Arthur was first my teacher for four years, later my close colleague for nine years, along the way also my co-author, and, for more than four decades, my friend, supporter, mentor, and constant email correspondent about anything and everything. It is hard not to have him at the end of the line anymore to bounce ideas off. I know all his many friends will be feeling that. My sincerest and warmest condolences go to all his family. And Arthur, wherever you are I hope you are enjoying a good red; I toast your memory, and thank you for being Arthur.

Jon Hall

I’ll remember Art most of all perhaps for his quirky conversation. At times you had to hang on tight as his references got more and more obscure; but usually the journey was worth it. In academic and pedagogic matters, he was professional, fair and easy to work with – a great help during my years as Head of Department at Otago. He was also one of the few attendees at the ASCS meetings with whom I could talk about Plinius the Amp rather than Plinius the Younger.

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