I was saddened to hear of the recent passing of Kevin Vost. In my brief interactions with Kevin, he seemed like a very generous, kind and and knowledgeable man who seemed to have so much energy. When you interacted with him, he always seemed to give you his full attention.
He was a husband, father and grandfather. He held a PhD in psychology and taught at universities such as the University of Illinois at Springfield and Aquinas College in Nashville, Tennessee. He was also a public speaker and a prolific author who wrote and spoke about topics such as Stoicism, strength training, St Aquinas, and catholic theology and apologetics. Out of his almost thirty books, I think that The Porch and the Cross: Ancient Stoic Wisdom for Modern Christian Living from 2017 and Memorize the Stoics!: The Ancient Art of Memory Meets the Timeless Art of Living from 2022 are particularly recommended to the readers of Stoicism Today.
He also wrote several articles for Stoicism Today, one of his most recent contributions was an excerpt from his book Memorize the Stoics, and others include a piece on loneliness and what the Stoics might contribute to those who have to deal with loneliness, an article on gratitude where he draws on both Seneca and St. Thomas Aquinas, as well as several others.
I was honored to chair a panel on recent books on Stoicism at Stoicon 2022 were Kevin was among the panelists. One of the topics that we discussed was what is the criterion for success when writing a book, to which Kevin replied that if he knew that at least one person got something useful out of his book, then it was well worth it. I have personally learned quite a lot from Kevin’s many books and talks up through the years, and I am sure that there are many others who learned a great deal from him. He also did a talk at Stoicon-X Milwaukee which I would like to recommend to our readers.
The former editor of Stoicism Today, Greg Sadler, writes
In my many interactions with Kevin Vost over the last seven years, several things that came across were his love for knowledge and wisdom wherever it might be found, his desire to bring the fruits of thought to others who could use them, and his talent for making ideas and practices from the past accessible for people in the present. Whether writing articles to Stoicism Today, giving lightning talks, participating in panels, or speaking at regional or international conferences, Kevin continually made contributions to the growing modern Stoic community. He was a kind, generous, thoughtful person. There are many, I think, who have lost a friend and good colleague, in Kevin’s demise.
I’d like to end by giving my deepest condolences to all of his family, friends and colleagues, and thank Kevin for all that he has done for Modern Stoicism throughout the years.
Requiescat in pace.
Harald Kavli is the editor of Stoicism Today.
