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Arthur John McLaughlin Jr., author, dedicated teacher

May 26, 2022

Arthur John McLaughlin Jr., 74, of Dover passed away with his loving wife by his side Sunday, May 15, 2022.  

Mr. McLaughlin was born Oct. 11, 1947, in Woodbury, N.J., to the late Arthur John McLaughlin Sr. and Dora Mae Mathis McLaughlin.

Art said, “I want to help sick people and I want to be around beautiful things,” and he managed to do both. After a career in health services during which he served as the director of respiratory therapy for Wilmington Medical Center, he went back to school to earn his bachelor's and master's degrees in art history at the University of Delaware, where he won the Robert Silver Award for Excellence in teaching art history. He authored several books, most recently “Art and the Nazis 1933-1945 Looting, Propaganda and Seizure.”

For the past 12 years, Mr. McLaughlin was a beloved volunteer teacher with Osher Lifelong Learning, where he shared his knowledge and passion for art history, medicine and science and rock ‘n’ roll with adult students throughout the state. He was also a valued member of the Collections and Education Committees of the Biggs Museum of American Art.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Gregory McLaughlin.

He is survived by his wife, Susan Carr McLaughlin; stepdaughter, Elizabeth Mays and her husband Michael of Avondale, Pa.; sisters, Liz Nowell and her husband John, and Darlene Janvier and her husband Lee; and grandchildren, Nolan and Lillian.

Memorial services will be held at noon, Wednesday, June 1, at Torbert Funeral Chapel South, 1145 E. Lebanon Road (Rt. 10), Dover. Friends may call one hour prior. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made to Osher Lifelong Learning Institute-Kent and Sussex Counties Gift Fund in memory of Art McLaughlin, OLLI, 15516 New Road, Lewes, DE 19958, olli.udel.edu/in-memory.

Letters of condolence may be sent, and guestbook signed at torbertfuneral.com.