Rebecca Grove Munson was born in St. Louis, Missouri on March 29, 1984 to Ronald and Miriam Munson. An avid reader and gifted storyteller from her earliest years, Rebecca attended The Wilson School and John Burroughs School, where she revealed herself to be not just a dedicated literary scholar, but also a deft television critic—and ardent fan. 

After high school, Rebecca attended Columbia University and majored in English Literature, graduating with honors. She went on to earn her Master's at Oxford (Keble College) before receiving a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, where her research focused on Shakespeare and other early modern dramatists. Rebecca then served two years as a postdoctoral fellow—first at the University of California, Los Angeles and then at Emory University—before moving to Princeton in 2016 to begin work as a project manager at the Center for Digital Humanities. 

In 2018, in the midst of her work at the CDH, Rebecca was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of metastatic breast cancer. Her fearlessness and determination carried her through an arduous series of treatments and procedures while she continued—defiant, unbowed—to work full time. In the years following her diagnosis, Rebecca made lasting contributions to her field through her writing, research, and advocacy, and she moved up through several roles at the CDH, culminating in her 2021 appointment as Assistant Director for Interdisciplinary Education.  

Rebecca's list of publications, papers delivered, fellowships, awards, and scholarly achievements is too lengthy to list in this space. Yet even more profound than her professional and academic achievements are her essential characteristics: generosity, wit, consideration for others, loyalty, kindness, zest for life, integrity, and indomitable spirit.  

She passed away at home on August 13, 2021, surrounded by her loving and devoted family and friends. 

Rebecca was a beloved daughter, an invaluable friend, an excellent teacher and colleague, and a force for good. For those of us fortunate enough to have known her, it is no exaggeration to say she saved the world—a lot.