Allan A. Glatthorn

WASHINGTON, N.C. - Dr. Allan Adale Glatthorn, 83, died at his home in Washington, on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007, after an extended illness. A memorial service will be held Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007, at 11 a.m., in the chapel of Hillside Funeral Service.The family will receive friends following the service at Hillside Funeral Service. Dr. Glatthorn will be remembered for his significant contributions to education, principally in the areas of supervision and curriculum development. Dr. Glatthorn was Professor Emeritus of the University of Pennsylvania from which he retired in 1987, as well as Professor Emeritus of East Carolina University from which he retired in 2003. Dr. Glatthorn was born and raised in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, graduating from Frankford High School and earning three degrees from Temple University. During World War II, he served in the United States Infantry, participating in the Battle of the Bulge, earning the Combat Infantry Badge and the Bronze Star. Dr. Glatthorn's entire public school career (24 years) was spent in Abington, Pa., where he was an English teacher and supervisor before becoming principal of the Abington High School. He was principal of that school during the 1960's when it won national recognition for its innovative programs and academic excellence. He left the principalship to found and direct two suburban alternative schools, Alternative East and Alternative West. Dr. Glatthorn joined the faculty at the Graduate School of Education of the University of Pennsylvania in 1972, becoming the Director of Teacher Education and later the Chairman of the Educational Leadership Department. He held post-doctoral fellowships at Harvard University and the University of Chicago, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Portugal. In 1987, Dr. Glatthorn moved to North Carolina, where he was a Professor of Education, honored with the academic title of Distinguished Research Professor of Education and presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Research. On leave from ECU, Dr. Glatthorn served as the Acting Director of the School of Education, University of Alaska at Fairbanks (1992-1993). He was the author of thirty-six professional books in the fields of school leadership, curriculum and supervision and of forty textbooks in English language arts. He was generally considered one of the nation's foremost authorities in the fields of curriculum and teacher supervision. He consulted in these areas across the country as well as abroad where several of his books were translated into foreign languages. Dr. Glatthorn was a noted speaker and writer whose words provided leadership as well as inspiration. He strongly believed in the transformative power of education. All in all, he dedicated 59 years of his life to education. Among his professional honors and activities, Dr. Glatthorn served on the Curriculum Advisory Council, National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Board of Editors, Review of Education, the Task Force to Reform the High School, the National Council for the Humanities (a presidential appointment by Lyndon Johnson), and the Commission on the Humanities. Dr. Glatthorn was the son of Anna Girvin and Louis Glatthorn; he was one of nine children and is survived by his brother, Louis Glatthorn, and sister, Dorothy Egbert, both of Brattleboro, Vt.; his brothers, Ed, Fred, Bruce and Daniel Glatthorn preceded him in death as did his sisters, Anna Tucker and Lorna Farmer. In 1947, he married Ruth Kirk, who survives. In 1976, he married his wife of 31 years, Barbara Parpart Glatthorn. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; his son, Dale Glatthorn of Aurora; and his daughters, Carolin Dotterer and her husband, William, of Charleston, S.C., Laura Vlasits and her husband, Chaz, of Philadelphia, Louise Mangels and her husband, Gerald, of Glenside, Pa. and Gwen Apple and her husband, Tony, of Washington, NC. Dr. Glatthorn is also survived by five grandchildren, Alexander Marchut and his wife, Sabrina ,of North Brunswick, N.J., Amber Marchut of Washington, D.C., Gregory Mangels of Philadelphia, Kirk Mangels of Ann Arbor, Mich., and Max Dotterer of Charleston, S.C.; and by a step-granddaughter, Brittany Apple of Washington. Dr. Glatthorn was a member of Mother of Mercy Catholic Church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the East Carolina University Foundation in support of the Glatthorn Dissertation Award, Attn: Director of Development, ECU College of Education, 154 Speight Building, Greenville, NC 27858. You may share a memory with the family by visiting www.hillsidefuneralservice.com. Hillside Funeral Service of Washington, NC is serving the Glatthorn family.