Frederick Glodis, 68, Was Teacher at Tisbury School

On August 27, 1963, the young Glodis family, consisting of Fred, Joan and 11-month-old Kathy, arrived in Vineyard Haven to embark on a 39-year adventure.

The first thing Fred did was take off his city shoes and declare he didn't care if he ever put them on again.

After interviewing with Charlie Downs and Ned Whitmore and being hired by Alice Campos, Red Dolby and Dr. Russell Hoxsie, Fred entered the Tisbury School as the new science teacher. What a journey, what a love affair, what a gift. He was blessed with a passion for teaching science and becoming personally invested in his students, their families and the town - and he was given all the room and support he needed to share this passion. If he asked for books, equipment, anything he wanted for the students to learn and be able to accompany him on his adventure, he got it. Fred was never denied his requests to attend NSTA conventions and to conduct workshops while there. He would go from exhibit to exhibit, looking for anything that would further excite his students and future students.

Fred felt strongly that the Island kids should know their Island environment. So, shortly after arriving on the Island, he was introduced to bird banding - and he was off and running. He took his students to the rookery in Lobsterville and they counted, documented and banded gulls. They all came home covered in bird poop and were as happy as could be. The Audubon Society would send cards telling where the banded birds were found. There were beach erosion studies and the dreaded leaf and shell collections. God help you if you tried to sneak in a shell that Grandma brought you back from Florida.

The Mr. G. jokes that he told brought groans, but became tradition. He took pride in his students' working hard, pushing those he knew could do better and encouraging all to work to the best of their abilities. There were many times when he agonized over the struggles, personal and academic, of his schoolchildren.

Summers brought adventures besides numerous jobs, fishing and off-Island courses. The town needed someone to spray for mosquitoes, so Fred went to school and got a license. The schools needed to solve their asbestos problems. So Bob Holt and Fred went to asbestos school, donned their space-like suits and dug right in. He was so honored to have been invited, along with teachers from all over the country, to join the Jason Project team led by Dr. Robert Ballard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Fred was on the team that wrote the curriculum and procedures, using the scientific data, to be comprehended by his school-age students.

He enjoyed being part of the Tisbury School family whose efforts were put forth to enrich the learning experiences, health and welfare of the students entrusted to their care.

As all parents, he burst with joy at the birth of his daughters, Kathleen, Kimberly and Abigail, and had that great feeling when he became Grandpa Fred. He shared in the happiness of their successes and suffered and felt the pain of the obstacles they encountered and had to overcome. He felt such pride when all three of his children chose paths modeled in some way after his own. Kathy became like him, fascinating her young students at Harvard Yard with the mysteries of science and life, and - as one parent put it - building a legacy for her father. Kim earned her doctorate in psychology, conducts her own research and does her best to implement the best of Fred's pedagogy with her college students. Finally this past year, Abby was graduated from college, earning her degree in medical laboratory sciences; she entertained her father regularly with stories of biopsy investigations.

Frederick Kirkland Glodis was born on Dec. 27, 1937, in Worcester, the son of Lucy Mae Parker Glodis and John Glodis. He died August 4 in Wilson, N.C., at the age of 68.

He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Joan; his daughters, Kathleen Poehler and her husband, Eric, of Melrose, Kimberly Martin, her husband, Curtis, and their children, Amelia, Isaac and Talula, of Rocky Mount, N.C., and Abigail Glodis and her son, Ari Siegler of Beachwood, Ohio; brothers John of Arizona and Roy of Virginia; and sisters Mary West of Florida, Eleanor Mann of Massachusetts and Susan Kollios of Nevada.

He was predeceased by an infant son and will be laid to rest with him on Oct. 21, in view of his beloved Tisbury School.

Fred never tired of teaching. He loved and lived it. His body got tired. He was a many-faceted diamond, always shining brightly through the good and hard times. He was courageous, loving, dependable, devoted and will be loved and missed forever.

Donations in memory of Frederick Glodis may be made to the Jason Project, P.O. Box 630548, Baltimore, MD 21263-0548. Please make checks payable to the Jason Project and write Fred Glodis on the memo line. The project is an organization dedicated to oceanographic exploration and education.