By Rebecca Billman
The Cincinnati Enquirer

OXFORD - Students and colleagues of Andrew McKim Radcliffe, a visiting English professor at Miami University, are shocked and saddened by his unexpected death Nov. 29.

Mr. Radcliffe, 27, was visiting his family in Cambridge, Md., for Thanksgiving when he died of cardiomyopathy - an abnormality of the heart muscle.

"Andy was devoted to his writing and to his friends, the kind of graduate student and, later, instructor who makes a real difference to the intellectual and cultural climate of a university," said Keith Tuma, chair of Miami's English department. "He had finished a fine novel and was starting another. He had the passion and the talent to make it as a writer.

"Maybe more important," Mr. Tuma continued, "was his character. Few can balance joie de vivre and real concern for others the way he did."

Mr. Radcliffe had earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 1997 and a master's in creative writing from Miami in 2001. He taught English there and served as a resident adviser.

Survivors include his parents, George and Jacquelyn Radcliffe of Cambridge; two brothers, Scott of Lafayette, Ind., and Greg of Cambridge; his paternal grandparents, Augusta and George M. Radcliffe Sr. of Cambridge; and his maternal grandmother, Mary McCann of Virginia Beach, Va.

A liturgy of Christian burial is 10 a.m. today at St. Mary, Refuge of Sinners Catholic Church in Cambridge. Miami University will conduct a memorial service in January. For information about the service, call (513) 529-5221 after Jan. 8.

Mr. Radcliffe's remains will be cremated and inurned at his family's home in Cambridge.

Memorials: Andy Radcliffe Memorial Fund, c/o Bank of the Eastern Shore, P.O. Box 757, Cambridge, Md. 21613.

E-mail rbillman@enquirer.com