Joanne Herbert Stroud Bilby

Dr. Joanne Herbert Stroud Bilby, a Dallas, Texas, resident who summered in Southampton, died surrounded by her family on March 7.

From an early age, Dr. Stroud was deeply influenced by the loss of her father during World War II. Raised by a single mother determined to ensure that she had a good education, Dr. Stroud graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and later pursued a double master’s and a Ph.D. in literature and psychology at the University of Dallas, where she subsequently taught in the literature department.

In 1980, she and Drs. Louise and Don Cowan, Dr. Robert Sardello, Dr. Gail Thomas, and James Hillman became the Founding Fellows of the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture. Forty years later, thanks in large part to Dr. Stroud’s dedication, the Dallas Institute, situated in the Uptown area of Dallas, continues to thrive with a mission to provide educational programs in the humanities, teacher training, and community outreach.

Dr. Stroud enjoyed a distinguished career as publisher of writings in the areas of classical literature, archetypal psychology, and spiritual psychology. As director of the Dallas Institute Publications, Dr. Stroud was editor of the Gaston Bachelard Translation Series, a project involving seven volumes on elemental imagination written by Bachelard. She received international acclaim for her translations and publications and for making these influential works by the French philosopher available to scholars in the English-speaking world.

Beginning in 2004, in conjunction with Spring Publications and the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, Dr. Stroud oversaw the publication of the Uniform Edition of the Writings of James Hillman. The 11 volumes unite major lectures, occasional writings, scholarly essays, clinical papers, and interviews of pioneering psychologist, James Hillman (1926-2011). Additionally, she hosted seven annual James Hillman Symposiums in conjunction with the Dallas Institute.

Dr. Stroud wrote eight books: “The Bonding of Will and Desire,” the four-volume series “Choose Your Element,” “Time Doesn’t Tick Anymore,” “Gaston Bachelard: An Elemental Reverie on the World’s Stuff,” and “Towers 2 Tall.” She was co-editor of “Images of the Untouched” and editor of “The Olympians.”

Married to prominent attorney Ethan Stroud until they divorced in 1974, she subsequently was married to Kenneth Bilby until his death in 1997. She had a passion for travel, art and architecture, which she explored with her close friend Raymond Nasher. In her later years, she formed a profound bond with physician Dr. Bill Vowel.

She was active in the communities in which she lived and served as an overseer of Harvard University Visiting Committee, Graduate School of Education, and on the boards of the University of Dallas, The C.G. Jung Foundation of New York City, The American Federation of Art, and the Southwestern Medical Foundation. She was awarded the Distinguished Alumna Award by the University of Dallas (2017), Outstanding Alumnae Volunteer Award by Hockaday School (2020), as well as the Athena Award (2005) bestowed for significant contribution to the field of humanistic endeavor.

Dr. Stroud is survived by her three children: Ethan and wife Carol; Eric and wife Sara; and daughter Natasha; as well as her three grandchildren: Ethan, Tatiana and Will Stroud, and her many friends.

A memorial service will be held at the Nasher Sculpture Center on Wednesday, May 12, at 6 p.m. The event will also be livestreamed at youtube.com/watch?v=k9T6nF6dDN8.

Donations in Dr. Joanne Stroud’s name may be made to The Stroud House at The Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, 2719 Routh Street, Dallas, TX 75201.