John Marshall McCulloh

1943 - 2024

John Marshall McCulloh was born on Sept.13th and died on Sept. 6th, 2024. John was born and grew up in Abilene, Kansas, a wonderful time to be a kid in small town America. His grandparents lived nearby, his mom was a stay-at-home mom and great cook and his father was employed at a secure and well-paid position after the insecurity of the Great Depression. He had a band of wonderful friends, was Kansas state debate champion, recreated Roman feasts in his Latin class, wrapped in sheets and reclining on the gym floor. He had a minor run-in with the police while painting the Salina water tower. He and his friends purchased a used hearse, drove it everywhere their senior year and raffled it off in a lottery (which also wasn't probably legal). And he worked at the Dairy Queen in summers.

John went to KU, pledged ATO, appeared in the 1965 Jayhawker as an outstanding senior, graduated in History with honors and had one of three awards for outstanding history paper. He was member of Owl Society (Jr. honorary), Sachem (Sr. honorary society) and a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. He also met Karen, whom he married in Dec. 1965. The Woodrow Wilson allowed him to pursue graduated work at UC Berkeley, where he received both an MA and PhD in Medieval History. Thanks to a small Cal scholarship, he was able to spend almost two years in Munich at the Bavarian State Library working on his dissertation. His time in Munich led to fruitful connections with researchers in the US and Europe.

While finalizing his degree, he held two short lectureship positions at UCSD and UCLA. In 1973 he accepted a tenure-track position at Kansas State University, coming full circle back to Kansas. There he remained a faculty member until his retirement in 2012. In addition to teaching, he continued to actively research and publish about religious life in medieval Europe. His research depended upon rare primary sources, many of which were hundreds of years old. With sabbaticals and grants, a Fulbright, two von Humboldt awards, two DAAD awards, he was able to spend time in Munich and Norwich, England. These years abroad gave the whole family a chance to experience different cultures, schools and created lasting friendships. He was a well-regarded lecturer, a popular History department head and served for many years on Faculty Senate and University and College committees. His work on William of Norwich was recently cited in a NY Times book review

John was preceded in death by his father, Marshall S. McCulloh, his mother, Gladys (Mobley) McCulloh and brothers, Kenneth and Robert. Also by his father-in-law, Floyd J. Indall, mother-in-law, Ruth (Schmidt) Indall Machin and his step-father-in-law, Don Machin. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Karen, his son, John Andrew McCulloh and wife Amanda Stanton-Geddes of Belmont, California and his daughter, Catherine Anna McCulloh, PhD, and her husband Matthew McCord of Madison, Wisconsin. Also, grandchildren, Henry, Gregory, Dean and Felix McCulloh and Timothy and Calvin McCord.

A memorial service will be held on October 5th at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. The time to be announced at a later date, with a reception to follow. Donations, in lieu of flowers, may be given to the K-State History Department, the John and Karen McCulloh fund at the Greater Manhattan Community Fund and the Flint Hills Discovery Center.