JESSICA KOLDITZ / Scroll
Although he was recently diagnosed with colon cancer, English professor Stephen George continues teaching a John Steinbeck seminar and also a philosophy ethics course.

Finding the light through storms of adversity

Erin Pitcher ZAN04001@BYUI.EDU Campus Asst. Editor

An airplane soars through storm clouds. Rain is pelting. All is dark. It finally ascends above the clouds — bright rays of sunlight penetrate the aircraft.

Such are life’s storm clouds of adversity.

These storms of adversity struck Stephen George, an English professor at BYU-Idaho, last December when he was diagnosed with colon cancer.

“It was a terrible shock,” George said. “It’s just not something you’d expect to happen, especially to someone still in their early forties.”

During December, George underwent radiation to reduce the swelling tumor in his brain. The battle continued throughout January with surgery, removing three large tumors in his colon. Even now, George has periodic chemotherapy treatments for tumors in his liver.

George describes his treatment as draining, but not as difficult as some experiences.

“There have been moments of despair,” George said. “But you can’t live that way. You must move forward.”

Rising above the storms

Despite the tiredness he feels, George continues doing the things he loves. He teaches a John Steinbeck seminar and also a philosophy ethics class. He serves in the BYU-Idaho 2nd Ward bishopric and persists in his endeavors to start the Rexburg Children’s Museum.

“Things becomes a lot clearer [when you have a serious illness],” George said. “You recognize your priorities and realize what’s most important.”

Staying close to the Lord, helping others and doing good are the things that matter most to him.

George believes remaining involved has helped him through this ordeal. He has also found the more he is able to maintain a normal lifestyle, the better he feels and the more he is able to get by one day at a time.

Influential teaching

My colleagues have been a great help to me, George said.

Since he was diagnosed with cancer, colleagues have taught George’s classes on days when he has been gone for medical treatments. Nevertheless, George wants to be in the classroom whenever possible.

“I so enjoy teaching at a Church school where I can integrate an appreciation of literature and the power of language … with strengthening students’ testimonies of the gospel,” George said.

George’s academic impact extends beyond the classroom. He was the mind behind a Steinbeck conference that will be held March 24-26 in Sun Valley, Idaho, where over 60 scholars from across the world will gather and give presentations on Steinbeck. BYU-I students studying Steinbeck will be able to attend and rub shoulders with some of the greatest Steinbeck scholars in the country.

“[George] is a scholar of national recognition on John Steinbeck,” said Kip Hartvigsen, a BYU-I English professor.

“He edits a professional journal [The Steinbeck Review] about this author,” Hartvigsen continued. “By editing I mean he reviews, reads and publishes these journals.”

Steinbeck is not the only topic George is dedicated to. As Ricks College transitioned to BYU-I, a capstone course, now English 495, was needed for all English majors. George and Hartvigsen compiled a text literally in months for the course that debated ethical concerns in modern literature.

Later, in 2004, George took his first sabbatical and devoted that time to editing and publishing the text, Ethics, Literature and Theory: An Introductory Reader, which is being marketed nationally by Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group.

“[George’s] work about literature’s ethical concerns has made a major contribution to this program,” Hartvigsen said. “And it may reinvigorate ethics in literature.”

Loving family

Though George’s scholarly contributions are great, it is the relationships he has with his family that most impresses Hartvigsen.

“I have seen [Stephen] interact with his wife and children,” Hartvigsen said. “I’ve watched the loving care he’s shown them. It is the kind heart he has with his family — and his colleagues...”

Since he was diagnosed with cancer, his family has become much closer, George said. Extended family has been supportive, and his six children have taken on more responsibilities.

“We literally have people all over the world praying for our family,” George said. “And we have felt the strength of their prayers.”

Eternal perspectives

George’s knowledge of the gospel has sustained him through this trial. Prayer, temple attendance and his wife, Rebecca, help him stay positive.

George doesn’t know what lies ahead, but he’s okay with that. He plans to continue doing the things he loves.

“You just ... do it one day at a time, in an act of faith,” he said.