Pioneering Mormon novelist Doug Thayer dies at 88

Douglas H. Thayer influenced generations of Mormon writers and scholars in his 54-year career at Brigham Young University, thought to be the longest tenure on faculty. As a professor, he was noted for his dry wit, generosity, and integrity in upholding tough grading standards.Thayer, a prominent Mormon literary writer and longtime English professor at LDS Church-owned BYU, died Tuesday of liver cancer at age 88. A funeral will be held in Provo on Oct. 28.“I have friends to this day who com