DR. SIDNEY KOLPAS
DR. SIDNEY KOLPAS
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DR. SIDNEY KOLPAS Obituary
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Tom Smalley
June 18, 2025
Dr Kolpas was by far the best teacher I ever had. Caring, giving, brilliant, and a master at his craft. 1996, Business Calculus, Glendale College, 6:30am. The ENTIRE class had to agree to that start time, and we all did. Gladly! I loved that class and I didn´t love math! We learned the value of hard work, perseverance, dedication. School lessons, life lessons. Grudgingly he allowed me to pay for lunch once across the street at the Great Grill. I was honored. You are greatly missed sir, and thank you
Sally Torres Perry
April 27, 2025
Sid Kolpas was probably the best teacher I have ever known, I wish that I had been able to share these sentiments when he was alive. For whatever it´s worth, he was the most enthusiastic teacher I have ever known.
Anyssa Medley
October 2, 2024
What Dr. Kolpas spoked mostly about how God loves symmetry, his love for his family and his love for Math. What a brilliant Dr. He left an impact on us, surely.
Anyssa Medley
October 2, 2024
Greatly missed! Dr. Sidney Kolpas was an amazing professor at my time at DCCC for statistics. Saddened by his passing. Prayers to his family! RIP :'(
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Tina Binda
September 28, 2023
Dr. Kolpas was my math teacher at Burroughs, as well as Glendale College. He was absolutely AMAZING! My favorite teacher after all these years of education. He was kind, innovative, compassionate and his passion for math was contagious. It was almost impossible to fail his class because he cared about every student and would do whatever it took to help every student develop a love of math. He was the kind of teacher they make movies about. I hope he knew how beloved he was. I have to imagine he inspired and motivated so many students.
PC
May 1, 2023
I did not know Dr. Kolpas. I was researching something that lead me to read Dr. Kolpas' last article at MAA.org. I clicked through to read about him and all I can say is that I wish I'd had him for a math teacher. He sounds like a truly wonderful and generous man and a phenomenal teacher. I'm very sorry for your loss.
Chip Locklear
April 30, 2023
Sid Kolpas was a fine fellow that I am proud to have called a friend decades ago when we both taught at Burroughs High. I regret that I made no attempt to maintain contact with him after I left teaching there after four happy years. And I am sad to hear of his health struggles in his last years. I wish he could have been able to enjoy more years of life, especially to spend dear time with his beloved family.
Jane Whitham-Thomas
February 16, 2023
Another memory I would like to share about Dr. Sid Kolpas was when I returned to CSUN after getting my B.A. in English Literature seven years later to pursue a teaching credential. I had to take the CBEST to get the preliminary credential to sub for LAUSD. So, I took the CBEST and scored a point or two short of passing the math portion. I decided to take a refresher CBEST math course at Moorpark College. Little did I know Dr. Sid Kolpas was teaching it! Boy, did he tease me about forgetting my Algebra! When I finished the course, I went back to take the math portion of the CBEST again and scored higher than in math than in my own field!
April 16, 2022
The world of Mathematics lost a genius losing Dr. Kolpas. He was my math professor at Glendale Community College, Glendale California. I remember looking forward to come to his class. He had a binder with problems all done with his hand writing that we used the whole semester. I just came from Madagascar and I signed up for English as a second (third) language (ESL), but I took several of his classes because they were so much fun! I ended up transferring to be a math major and now a high school math teacher. Dr. Kolpas showed me that math is fun and is everywhere we go. He used to joke around when he draws an equation and on the projector, he changes the curve to be something realistic and funny. There is so much more about Dr. Kolpas that there is no room to write it all. He was a person who brought smile and light to wherever he went. I do not remember a class where we did not laugh with Dr. Kolpas. His passing leaves me this emptiness in my heart. RIP Dr. Kolpas.
Jane Whitham Thomas
April 13, 2022
Jane Whitham Thomas
April 13, 2022
Dr. Kolpas was my favorite teacher at Luther Burbank Jr. High back in 1973. He made learning Algebra fun. He helped me through difficult times when my parents divorced and my brother and I were being sent back and forth between both parents on two completely different sides of this country. He took the time to answer notes I would write him at school. He took a few of us on trips to Magic Mountain and to attend one of his classes at USC. When I graduated from Luther Burbank at went to John Burroughs High School, I would go back to see him, help decorate his classroom. He and his wife, Laurie, went to my wedding in 1981 and my husband, Tom, and I have kept in touch until this day. We are now 63 years old and still his influence is still with. What are the odds that, I too, became a teacher at Knight High School in Palmdale. He will be missed horribly. Jane Whitham Thomas, Palmdale, California.
Jennie (Grossman) Stott
March 25, 2022
Dr. Sidney Kolpas was my algebra teacher at John Burroughs High School in Burbank in the early '80's. Prior to that, his lovely wife, Laurie, was my algebra and geometry teacher at Jordan Jr. High School in the late '70's. Mrs. Kolpas was my favorite math teacher, and sparked my love of math. Dr. Kolpas was also an excellent teacher. I have Dr. Kolpas to thank for my 35 year career in IT at Providence Health Systems. Dr. Kolpas offered one of his first Basic Programming classes my senior year at JBHS. I was lucky enough to take it. We would work on the Radio Shack TRS-80 computers. For my project I wrote a basic program for the Mastermind game. This class sparked my interest in computers. The director of IT at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center (PSJMC) in Burbank spoke at my Careers & Occupations class. He ended up hiring me, towards the end of my senior year, as a full-time Data Entry Tech. While I didn't go into programming, my career included setting up a computer help desk, providing hardware and software support, and my favorite role was developing courses and providing training to healthcare staff on various business and clinical applications. I am forever grateful for the excellent education both Dr. & Mrs. Kolpas provided me. It led me to a successful and rewarding career, which provided financial security for me and my family. I was so very sorry to hear of Dr. Kolpas' passing. My heart, thoughts and prayers for serenity are with Mrs. Laurie Kolpas, their daughters, and all of his family & loved ones
Fredda Bianco
March 24, 2022
When I first came to DCCC, Sid met with me and gave me so much info to help to get acclimated. When he became ill I wanted to take on one of his classes and my husband and I were invited to his home. We met his lovely wife Laurie and were given a tour. My husband took so many pics. Sid's love of teaching, his family and life were so evident in our visit. I was so sad to read about his passing.
May his memory be blessing!
Joseph Mohos
March 21, 2022
I was blessed to have had Dr. Kolpas teach me math and computer studies at John Burroughs High School in the 1980s. I want to thank Dr. Kolpas for inspiring me to be who I am today. I have enjoyed a rich career as a computer engineer that was inspired by his wisdom, funny stories and patient spirit. My first class with him was in a room filled with monochrome TRS-80 computers that he networked to a massive printer in the front. He string cables all around the room to create a primitive network. And in the back of the class were the marvels of the day, the Amiga and the color radio shack computers. His lectures were quirky, passionate and effective. There was no question he loved to teach and each of us was a challenge to him. He never gave up on anyone in his class, bringing D students to As repeatedly.
While he was teaching at Burroughs he was also working with Radio Shack and he got me an employee discount for my first PC from Radio Shack. He went out of his way to help me get my first serious start with computers. That's just the type of guy he was.
Daily he would have a topic prepared, a few interesting stories and his characteristic lecture style that tied it all together. He would weave in stories of his family, kids, pets, childhood, etc.. It was during one of my semesters with Dr. Kolpas that the Chernobyl disaster happened and he shared the story of how his family emigrated from Russia. He was very unique for never speaking ill of anyone. This man became more than a teacher but a friend, a motivational speaker, a life couch and an inspiration to any math or computer geek who had the luck to have him as a teacher.
Looking back at how I have grown and changed over the years there are some key influences that have stuck and shaped me. Dr. Kolpas is one of them. The big takeaway is that Dr. Kolpas LOVED what he did every day. He was happy with who he grew up to be. My memories of his positivity became a guiding beacon for me through college and into my career.
Another John Burroughs teacher, and a friend of Dr. Kolpas was Ron Lipari. Mr. Lipari was another unique, effective and quirky teacher but very different than Dr. Kolpas. These two teachers were my bookends for inspiration.
Thank your Dr. Kolpas for being such a great inspiration. Your eternally grateful student, Joe.
andrew lieberman
March 21, 2022
Laurie and family,
Sid was a good friend. I KNOW that he will never stop teaching, from wherever he is. My sincerest condolences to you. Remember him at his best.
In his memory, I have made a donation of pi ($314.15) to the Delaware County Community College Student Textbook Fund so that others might "live" mathematics the way he did.
Stay well.
With Mario
Ron and Iris Schwartz
March 20, 2022
Ron and Iris Schwartz
March 20, 2022
At the beach
Ron and Iris Schwartz
March 20, 2022
At Oak Glen sharing a carmel apple
Ron and Iris Schwartz
March 20, 2022
Mario Flores
March 20, 2022
The world has lost one of the best. Dr. Kolpas was one of a kind. Dr. Kolpas was more than a teacher/professor to me, he was a mentor, friend, and a father figure.
Meeting Dr. Kolpas at Glendale College was a turning point in my life. He saw the potential in this immigrant kid who was lost and probably looking very defeated walking out of the tutoring lab . He had the most positive and organic way to guided students.
I was soon enrolled in the summer bridge program for minority students and started to understand what I needed to do to be successful. In Dr. Kolpas, I had a role model who kindly, patiently, supporter, and always willing to help, Dr. Kolpas was someone I could always count on.
I recalled my friend and I were working on some physics problems that we were not able to figure out and Dr. Kolpas walks by and he said Hi, how are you doing? what are you working on? my friend and I both reply physics homework and Dr. Kolpas without any hesitation says Mario is a great physics student I know you two will figure this out. Good luck and stop by my office if you need any help. My friend and I laughed because we knew how much we were struggling with the class (this was a weekly issue for both of us). But at that moment that's all we needed to keep working on those physics problems and yes we solved the problems, two days later, I believe we only did because Dr. Kolpas was there and he believe in us (That kept us going).
I will forever be in debt with Dr. Kolpas for encouraging me to enrolled in the summer bridge program, to teaching the bridge program myself with his guidance and support, for helping me find my first teaching job, mentoring me, and been there for my wife Laura and I when we started our own family.
Dr. Kolpas and Ms.Kolpas (as I like to call Laurie) were always there for my family. I don't think I could be where I'm now if I didn't have their support.
Thank you Dr. Kolpas. You made this world a better place. I miss you.
My deepest sympathies to his Ms. Kolpas, daughters, grandkids, and family.
Naira Barsegyan
March 19, 2022
Dr. Kolpas was truly inspirational and a great teacher. He was always supportive and wanted his students to succeed. We will always remember him.
Great time in Montreal
Iris and Ron Schwartz
March 19, 2022
Kevin Strasser
March 19, 2022
I received C's in Algebra but when Dr. Kolpas taught me geometry I received A's and B's - He helped inspire me to become a teacher. He specifially taught me how to be humanize the classroom. Amazing teacher, amazing man. Rest and peace.
MaryLee and Brian Wignall
March 19, 2022
Sid was an amazing person. It is heartwarming to read the recollections of how deeply he touched the lives of so many people. We witnessed his love of family, and will hold him in our hearts, always.
Deb Funk
March 19, 2022
Dr. Kolpas was a pleasure to work beside. He was creative in his curriculum and passionate about his students. He had students calling DCCC to check on his wellness. The students loved him and missed him while me was ill. They would see him working out at the YMCA and would bring the STEM Dept up to date on his improvements. The many conversations I had with Sid and the positivity he would present on one day being back in the classroom was infectious. We would talk about my girls who he had taught, to the bagels he would buy. Working with Sid to create the STEM Speaker Series at DCCC was a pleasure. He was so organized and had many contacts to bring to the college to share their stories with our students. To the Kolpas family, my sincerest condolences and prayers. A great man has been reclaimed by God to continue his work for him. Keeping you in our thoughts and prayers.
Victor Vennari
March 19, 2022
Dr. Kolpas was more than a teacher or professor to me he was a friend. I met Dr. K back in the 70's when I had him for Algebra in the 8th grade at Luther Burbank Jr High. I was fortunate to have him as a math professor on and off over the next 4 years into high school at Burroughs. He set up a classroom at Luther where each desk had a PC and created the first LAN at a public school (at least for Burbank it was a first). Then when he went to Burroughs he did the same with TRS-80 PC's and taught a Basic Computer Programming class, a first for any high school. He was ahead of his time and was the only math professor that I ever had who used real life examples for all those crazy theories and theorems. He made math fun and more understandable. I can remember him saying never stop learning, you only live once! Rest in peace Dr. K, you will forever be missed by all the lives you've touched!
My condolences to the family during this difficult time.
Victor Vennari
JBHS, Class of 82
Masis Yegazarian
March 19, 2022
I am deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Kolpas. I had the honor of being a student of his at John Burroughs high school in the late 80’s. His teaching methods where uniquely special, he made it so easy and fun to learn. His passion for Math was infectious, being in his classroom was like “Happy Hour” I can still envision him wearing his quadratic formula t-shirt with the quote “It’s No Big Deal” Rest In Peace Dr. Kolpas, your memory will live forever in all the lives you’ve touched.
Jim Tucker
March 18, 2022
Dr. Kolpas was a great teacher. I remember that he made math fun and his stories were very entertaining. He was one of my favorite teachers at Burroughs High School way back in the 1980’s. He will be missed by so many but the memories of how he made a positive impact on his prior students lives will live on in our thoughts. I am glad to hear that he was able to move back to spend time with his family back east. I am truly sorry for your loss.
Roy Wood
March 18, 2022
I am a member of the Esophageal Cancer Support Group of Philadelphia which had Sid as a member. The path with this disease is tough and some individuals have a tougher path than others in recovery, which was certainly true for Sid. I always admired Sid's intellect and I was very greatful for his concern when I had a recurrence. I have a fond memory of a conversation my wife and I had with Sid and his wife several years ago before COVID. We wish our deepest sympathies on the passing of my friend to his wife, daughters and family.
Lalida Warmack
March 18, 2022
Dr. Kolpas was one of my favorite teachers at Burroughs High School in Burbank, CA. He definitely made Math fun. Thank you for caring so much about us, Dr. K! May you Rest In Peace.
My condolences to the family during this difficult time.
Thomas Ramsey
March 18, 2022
He helped me understand geometry in a way that was fun and easy to learn
Thank you for being a great teacher
Tom Ramsey ( Burbank)
Carolyn Grogan
March 17, 2022
Sid was a joy to teach with at Luther and a truly wonderful human being. He loved Laurie and his girls and their families so much, and his posts about family kept us in CA in the loop. So many of his students ask after him and have wonderful stories to tell about his caring and what a great teacher he was. I was always in awe of his books and research papers (I taught English). So many lives have been enriched because he gave so freely of his talents.❤
Carolyn Grogan
Burbank, CA
FELIPE MURILLO
March 17, 2022
Rest in Peace Professor Kolpas. Undoubtedly the best professor I've ever had. I still remember taking his 7AM Calculus class at Glendale Community College. He really inspired students to excel in life. He saw potential in me an he recommended me to tutor Calculus to fellow students. He also wrote me an outstanding recommendation letter when I applied to USC. Just yesterday I was thinking of him when I received my Juris Doctor certificate. He was an amazing human being. My deepest condolences to his family. Rest in Peace Professor Kolpas.
March 17, 2022
Sid touched the lives of so many students including my own. I am beyond saddened to hear this news. Rest in peace, Sid.
Larry Byrd
Michael Herron
March 17, 2022
Truly a loss. Only the best teachers leave a life-long impression on you. Dr. Kolpas was one of those teachers. As a student of John Burroughs High School I took Dr. Kolpas' computer science class. He was passionate about teaching and encourage his students to be their best. He exemplified what a teacher should be. My condolences to the Kolpas' family. RIP Dr. Kolpas.
March 17, 2022
I am so sorry to hear this. Oh the memories growing up playing in the pool and barbecues in the back yard. Sending love and prayers! Jennifer Hoover Root amd family.
Stephanie George
March 17, 2022
He was definitely one of the best professors I had. His stories about those early computers were fascinating, and learning about statistics in his class truly changed my world view. Memory Eternal, Professor Kolpas.
Jesus Henao
March 17, 2022
I met Dr. Kolpas at Glendale Community College. I went on from Glendale to study at USC and ASU with a masters degree. I can honestly say, Dr. Kolpas was the best teacher I ever had! I told my children what an awesome professor he was. I remember him saying, "If you have class for an hour, then you have to put a least two hours of homework to understand the material" He was right! I also can proudly say that I elected when he offered to start class at 6:30am vs 7:00am to cover homework and get a better understanding of the material. He is the perfect example of what teaching needs today! Someone who cares and teaches with passion. I still remember the first edition math books he brought to class. His words "see nothing has changed, it is same information today" You will be truly missed, my sincere condolences to the family and loved ones. May God be with you until we meet again.
Jesus H. Henao
Valencia, CA
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4737 Street Road, Trevose, PA 19053
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