Northampton, Benjamin Cox Rountree, 89, longtime resident of Amherst, Massachusetts, died Monday December 19, 2016, in Northampton. 

Born August 13, 1927 in Moultrie, Georgia, Ben was the oldest of four children of Herbert and Marge Rountree.  Ben was raised in Dothan, Alabama, but moved to Adel, Georgia in his late teens.  At age 18 in 1945, he enlisted in the military. After he completed his service, the GI Bill enabled Ben to

attend college, studying German in Heidelberg, Spanish in Madrid, and French in Grenoble.  Ben traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East in these years, hitchhiking and bicycling.

Ben graduated Phi Beta Kappa with an A.B. from the University of Georgia, and pursued his studies in French literature at Yale University, completing his PhD with distinction in three years under the direction of Henri Peyre.   Ben taught French language and literature at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst for 30 years with regular visits to France and occasional postings to French universities. 

Ben married Mary Martin in 1956.  They raised two children together bilingually in French and English, and instilled in them both a deep curiosity about the world and a love of learning.  Ben married Lila Shanor in 1986.  After his retirement, he and Lila divided their time between Georgia, France, and Amherst.     

In addition to his wife of 30  years, Lila, Ben is survived by his sisters Mary Catherine and Marge, his brother Bert, his daughter Meredith,  her husband Rob Owen; son Ashley and his wife Lorraine,  grandson Jordan Tucker and step-grandsons Jean-Rémy and Nathan; step-daughter Rachel, her husband John Coombs and children Aidan and Katherine;  step-son Adam and his fiancée Susan Laugher;  and step-daughter Kate and her fiancé Bob Stafford, as well as his nieces Kim, Julie, Lynn, and Casey, and nephews Beau and Doug.