Herbert J. Klausmeier

1915 - 2014
HERBERT JOHN KLAUSMEIER, Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, of Farmington Hills, MI, formerly San Diego, CA, and Madison, WI, died on May 20 at the age of 98.

Prof. Klausmeier was born in 1915 in southern Indiana. He attended one-room elementary schools and graduated from high school in 1931 at age 15 in a class of six. Higher education at Indiana State University (B.S. 1940, M.S. 1947) and Stanford University (Ed.D. 1949), enabled him to escape poverty and enjoy a highly productive career as a professor at the University of Northern Colorado (1949-1952), and the University of Wisconsin - Madison (1952-1986). Before attending Stanford, he was a Navy lieutenant during WW II, and taught in Indiana public schools for four years.

Prof. Klausmeier's major achievements while at the University of Wisconsin include the following; writing successive editions of three widely acclaimed college textbooks for educators; founding and procuring funding for the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and developing it as a leader in improving elementary and secondary education; and with his colleagues at the Center, developing Individually Guided Education, an alternative to traditional elementary schooling. He directed the royalties that accrued from the sale of IGE materials to be used in establishing a Professorship in Education in the UW School of Education.

Herbert was passionate about devoting his life's work to giving others advantages he himself received through education. In 2003 he and Mrs. Klausmeier initiated a scholarship program at Indiana State University that is providing scholarships annually for one to three needy, high achieving students committed to becoming teachers.
In his free time and during his long retirement years, Herbert enjoyed gardening, golfing, traveling, and most of all spending time with his family.

Professor Klausmeier is survived by his wife of 67 years, Iyla Johnson Klausmeier, a daughter, Connie Klausmeier Hutchinson, her husband, Marshall Hutchinson, Jr., grandchildren Jesse Marie & Travis Klausmeier, Christopher & Ashley Hutchinson, and two sisters. A son, Thomas Klausmeier, passed away in 2001.

Memorial contributions may be made to Indiana State University Foundation, Klausmeier Scholarship in Education, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN. 47809 or Angela Hospice, 14100 Newburgh Rd., Livonia, MI, 48152.