Tamar Read

Tamar Clothylde Read, 101, of Ruston, formerly of Farmerville, Louisiana and of
Grand Forks, North Dakota, passed away Monday, April 10, 2023 in Ruston, Louisiana.

Tamar (or, Cloty to family) was born in Olla, Louisiana, the daughter of Paul L.
Read and Willow Roane Read, both educators and administrators in the public school
system. They moved to Farmerville when Tamar was in her early childhood, and she
graduated from high school there in 1938. She received a bachelor’s degree in music
from LSU in 1942 and a master’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1945.
After a few years in New York studying violin and choral music, she taught at
South Dakota State University then moved to a position at the University of North
Dakota in 1959. She obtained her doctorate in musical arts from the University of
Southern California in 1969 then returned to the University of North Dakota where she
remained until her retirement in 1988. While there she founded the Collegium Musicum,
whose members study and perform medieval, baroque, and renaissance music. She
was instrumental in bringing music of many ethnic cultures to include in the music
program at UND. She also supported music education with numerous endowments and
scholarships and started the Lotus Meditation Center in Grand Forks.
In 2021 she relocated back to her home state of Louisiana to be near family.
She is survived by her nieces Frances Read Grafton (Lloyd) of Ruston, Louisiana,
Rebecca Read Burton (Kevin) of Oregon, Wisconsin, and Mary Willow Read Veazey of
Metairie, Louisiana and her nephew Cecil Stanley Read, Jr. (Judy) of Farmerville,
Louisiana. A graveside service for family and friends will be held on Saturday, May 6,
2023, at 3 P.M. at the Farmerville Cemetery, under the direction of Kilpatrick Funeral
Homes – Ruston.
Online condolences may be extended to the family at
www.kilpatrick funeralhomes.com
Kilpatrick Funeral Homes – Ruston