PhD, Educator. June 9, 1925 - March 8, 2010. Thomas Gleason was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1925, eldest son of Maude and Thomas Gleason of New Richmond, Wisconsin. A great son, brother, husband, father and grandfather, he made his transition on March 8, 2010, in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. With his wife, Marie Kopach Gleason, to whom he was married sixty-three years, he enjoyed dual Canadian-American citizenship. He is survived by Marie and three children: Julie (Bill) Comstock, of Highland, Michigan, Jessica (Ted) Hoppe, of Denver, Colorado, and Thomas (Sue) Gleason, Tokyo, Japan; three grandchildren: Sean and Kristin Hoppe, and Billy Comstock, and two Minnesota siblings: his brother, Jack (Joan) Gleason of St. Paul and sister Glenna (Neil) Bealka of Stillwater, Minnesota. He was preceded in death by his son, John.
Tom attended St. Luke's Elementary School, St. Paul until his parents' passing when he was a teenager, at which point education-minded teacher-aunts of his Gleason family determined he could get the best secondary education at Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary, a lake and wooded Catholic academic community which also taught him love of outdoors and prepared him in Latin and Greek. He served in the Second World War in the Navy and in the Air Force during the Korean War, and then enrolled at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. The GI Bill veterans' benefits provided access to student housing as well as bachelor and master's degrees. He became a remedial reading teacher and principal in Wayzata, Minnesota before accepting a position with Department of Defense Schools, which led to tours in Paris and Germany. Returning to Minnesota he completed a specialist degree in education, and became an elementary school principal at the American International School, New Delhi, India. At Michigan State University, Lansing he completed a doctorate in Comparative International Education. His dissertation was on third-culture education, describing learning processes of American students living in a foreign country, enhanced by a tier of educational systems; he considered the PhD his greatest accomplishment.
Dr. Gleason accepted a position at New Brunswick's French language Universite de Moncton, and subsequently became a faculty member in the College of Education at Memorial University, St. John's. He particularly enjoyed conducting distance learning with student teachers throughout the island, as well as continuing to take Latin and Greek classics courses himself. During retirement, he will be remembered for his community garden, Memorial University fitness center athletics and walks, and endless reading expectation for The Economist and multiple newspapers.
A family and friends celebration, with children welcome, will be held at Carnell's Visitation & Reception Centre, 1045 Topsail Road, Mt. Pearl, Newfoundland, A1B 3P2, on Saturday, March 13, 2010 from 1 - 4 pm (www.carnells.com) (709-747-7740). A US military burial will be held at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, St. Paul, Minnesota at a later date.
Notice of his worldly transition was provided to alumnae publications at Memorial University, the University of Minnesota, Michigan State University, and American Embassy/International Schools. Obituaries were sent to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minneapolis Star/ Tribune and The Telegram/St. John's. His family and friends will continue to celebrate his life, traditions and legacy.
Memorials may be sent to Family Medicine Residents Education Fund, c/o Family Medicine, Memorial University, 300 Prince Phillip Drive, Health Sciences Centre, St. John's Newfoundland, A1B3V6. Envelopes will also be available at the celebration on Saturday. Additional communication regarding celebration of Dr. Gleason's life may be sent to his son, Tom, at tsgleason@yahoo.com.