Palmer Cummins Talbutt, Jr., 90, died peacefully in his sleep on Sept. 3, 2017. He was born March 30, 1927 in Lexington, Kentucky, the only child of the late Palmer Cummins Talbutt, Sr. and the late Marguerite Peel Talbutt.
He moved to Blacksburg in 1959 when he joined the faculty of Philosophy and Religion Department, Virginia Tech and taught there until his retirement in 1991. He was a member of Blacksburg United Methodist Church from 1959 until his death. He was also a member of the Montgomery County Chapter of the Torch Club.
He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Lou Ella Culler Talbutt of Blacksburg, and son, Scott Cummins Talbutt of Christiansburg. He was loved by his family and friends and they will miss his kind, gentle, and generous ways.
Palmer Talbutt graduated from Highlands High School, Fort Thomas, Kentucky in 1945 and in 1950 received a B.A. in English from Harvard University, Cambridge Massachusetts. He completed a Master’s in Philosophy at Columbia University, New York, in 1952, received a B.D. from Garrett Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois. in 1955, and a Ph.D. from Duke University in 1961.
During his career he held memberships in a number of professional organizations including the American Philosophical Association, Virginia Philosophical Association, Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, Society of Christian Philosophers, International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations (ISCSC), and Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy.
He proposed the ISCSC sessions on Pitirim A. Sorokin’s thought and co-edited the resulting conclusions, “Sorokin And Civilization: A Centennial Assessment.” He wrote a trilogy of books relating to Sorokin’s theory of culture and philosophy.
A memorial service will be held at the Blacksburg United Methodist Church on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 11 a.m. The family will receive friends immediately following the memorial service.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Blacksburg United Methodist Church, PO Box, 931 Blacksburg, Va. 24063 or Warm Hearth foundation, 2603 Warm Hearth Drive, Blacksburg, Va. 24060.
