WILLIAM GLENN DEGENER

DEGENER, WILLIAM GLENN 88 - of Newtown, PA, died on Saturday, Nov. 27 at the Pennswood Village retirement home. Degener was born in New York City and also lived in St. Louis, Mo. and Bridgewater, Conn. He is a former summer resident of Lower Township in Cape May County. Degener was a teacher of the classics, Latin and Greek, and a long-time football and baseball coach. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. Lt. Degener served as an artillery officer in the South Pacific from 1943-46 and stayed in the reserves until 1958. After the war, Degener began his career teaching history at Riverdale Country School in the Bronx. In 1953, he took a job teaching Latin and Greek at St. Louis Country Day, where he also chaired the Classics Department and coached both football and baseball. He replaced future Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy as football coach and at one point coached the team to 48 straight victories. Degener also was a youth baseball coach in St. Louis. Degener later moved back to New York City and taught at the Englewood School for Boys and at St. Bernard's School. Degener was an amateur archaeologist and worldwide traveler who loved visiting Greece and Italy. He spoke numerous languages including ancient Greek and Latin. He could read the graffiti on the walls of Pompeii dating back to the volcanic eruption of 79 A.D. Degener had a Bachelor's Degree from Princeton University and a Master's Degree from New York University. He also studied at Columbia University and Hunter College. Degener retired to Connecticut where he stayed busy serving on the Bridgewater Democratic Town Committee, treasurer for the Bridgewater Historical Society, Chairman of the Bridgewater Scholarship Committee, and was active with the New York Classical Club. Degener spent summers in Lower Township where he supplemented his teaching income as a bartender at the Admiral Hotel in Cape May and the Bay Bar in Lower Township. He also worked as a laborer at the Harbison-Walker Magnesite Plant in Lower Township. Degener is survived by four children: William Degener of Cornish, N.H, James Degener of San Francisco, Calif., Richard Degener of Lower Township and Amanda Degener of Minneapolis, Minn. Degener is survived by six grandchildren: Richard Degener of Middle Township, William Degener of Arlington, Va., Elizabeth Degener of Lower Township, Renee Degener of Brooklyn, N.Y., Russell Degener of San Francisco, Calif., and Charlotte Degener of Minneapolis, Minn. Degener is predeceased by his wife, Camilla Solm Degener, and daughter, Patricia Hill Degener. The funeral service will be on Thursday, Dec. 2, at the Swartz/Givnish Funeral Home, 323 East Washington Ave., Newtown, Pa., at 10:30 a.m. Friends may call beginning at 9:30 a.m. Burial will be at a later date in the Bronx.