George Donald Gleason was best known as a longtime Department Head and Professor, English Department, Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri. Dr. Gleason joined the MSU faculty in 1955 after completing his Doctorate in English at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. Dr. Gleason's service to MSU was recognized most recently in 2002 when he was included in the inaugural group of inductees to the MSU Wall of Fame, an honor given to selected employees of the university who had significantly contributed to the success and positive collegiate experience of students.
Born in Butte, Montana, George's mother, Anne (Grogan) Stipec, was the eighteen-year-old daughter of a coal miner, and his father, Matt Stipec, was a coal miner who had recently immigrated from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as it was then known. This marriage was short-lived, and when his mother remarried and moved the family to Salt Lake City, his mother became Anne Louise Gleason and her new husband, Joseph George Gleason, became little George's father. George's sister, Delores Louise Gleason, was four years younger than George, and in the isolation of the mining camps the two would prove to be amiable companions and co-conspirators.
The move to Salt Lake City was only the first of many relocations for the family. As economic conditions improved or worsened, the mines at which George's father was able to find work either boomed or busted. His mother took on work as a camp cook, rental agent, or cleaner in order to help make ends meet. Sometimes, however, the ends didn't meet, and the family would find themselves on the road again searching for work and living in their car, or in a tent, or once in a hobo camp under a bridge. Generally, though, when Joe Gleason was employed, the mining camps provided some sort of available housing, though sometimes it was a wooden platform covered by a tent.
George and his mother would make forays into the desert to shoot cottontail rabbits for dinner with the family's .22 rifle. He learned how to kill rattlesnakes and red racers and to look out for tarantulas in his bedroll. Though they were tempting, he was ordered not to play in the mines' tailings ponds. There were no other students in his eighth grade "class", so George spent that year reading, a pastime he thoroughly enjoyed. Later, he endured a two-hour bus ride across the Arizona desert each way between Oatman and his high school in Kingman, yet managed to equal another student for valedictorian of his high school class - but graciously lost the coin toss for the top honor.
Northern Arizona University at Flagstaff, Arizona, became George's home for the next four years. George sang in the Glee Club, majored in English, and became life-long friends with both students and professors. His close college buddy Waldo Larson continues to this day to regale George's family with memories of adventures with young George, including a hike down into the Grand Canyon with only one canteen of water and no money, their provisions having been sent ahead of them by U.S. Mail mule train to the bottom. George was honored as a distinguised alumnus by his alma mater in 1983.
George embarked on a career in the U.S. Navy when the United States entered World War II. Serving as a communications officer in the Pacific, George survived a kamikaze attack by Japanese Zeros on the USS Curtiss on June 21, 1945, near Okinawa that killed 35 men, wounded 21, and put the ship out of commission for months. After WWII ended, George enlisted in the Navy Reserves and was called back to active duty during the Korean Conflict during which he served in San Diego, California.
Between tours of duty with the U.S. Navy, George went back to school for a Masters Degree in English at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. There, he met a young librarian, also a masters English student, Virginia Lee Casey, whom he married in 1949. Their first child, Barbara Jo, was born at the Navy Hospital in San Diego. After his second tour of active duty, George began his doctoral degree at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. Upon completion of his PhD, George and his family relocated to Springfield, Missouri, in 1955, where George began his career as an English professor. He was appointed department head in 1963, and served in that capacity for 22 years, teaching literature, journalism, and childrens' literature, reviewing books, editing literary publications, and pounding out memos on his vintage Royal typewriter. A colleague said that "Under his leadership the department grew to be one of the largest academic departments on campus, yet Gleason's door was always open to students and faculty."
Dr. Gleason was the father of four children: Barbara, Anne, Victoria, and Randy, each of whom would graduate from college and relocate to cities far from Springfield, Missouri, where George and Virginia continued to live. Dr. and Mrs. Gleason's later years involved traveling to visit their children, Virginia's parents in West Virginia, George's mother in Boulder City, Nevada, and his sister in Los Angeles who had become Sister Georgina Gleason. They also enjoyed foreign adventures to Tahiti, Ireland, England, Italy, Germany, the Peruvian Amazon, Cameroon, China and Tibet.
George was an avid organic gardener and a gourmet cook, complementary endeavors that he enjoyed until the last years of his life. He greatly enjoyed dining out for lunch with his friend and colleague, Dr. Robert Berndt. He was a lifelong member of the Democratic Party and served often as a pollworker during elections. He enjoyed judging high school debate tournaments. Most of all, however, he dedicated his time to helping his students, many of whom still recalled his generous assistance many years after he had passed away.
By: Anne Gleason
Born in Butte, Montana, George's mother, Anne (Grogan) Stipec, was the eighteen-year-old daughter of a coal miner, and his father, Matt Stipec, was a coal miner who had recently immigrated from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as it was then known. This marriage was short-lived, and when his mother remarried and moved the family to Salt Lake City, his mother became Anne Louise Gleason and her new husband, Joseph George Gleason, became little George's father. George's sister, Delores Louise Gleason, was four years younger than George, and in the isolation of the mining camps the two would prove to be amiable companions and co-conspirators.
The move to Salt Lake City was only the first of many relocations for the family. As economic conditions improved or worsened, the mines at which George's father was able to find work either boomed or busted. His mother took on work as a camp cook, rental agent, or cleaner in order to help make ends meet. Sometimes, however, the ends didn't meet, and the family would find themselves on the road again searching for work and living in their car, or in a tent, or once in a hobo camp under a bridge. Generally, though, when Joe Gleason was employed, the mining camps provided some sort of available housing, though sometimes it was a wooden platform covered by a tent.
George and his mother would make forays into the desert to shoot cottontail rabbits for dinner with the family's .22 rifle. He learned how to kill rattlesnakes and red racers and to look out for tarantulas in his bedroll. Though they were tempting, he was ordered not to play in the mines' tailings ponds. There were no other students in his eighth grade "class", so George spent that year reading, a pastime he thoroughly enjoyed. Later, he endured a two-hour bus ride across the Arizona desert each way between Oatman and his high school in Kingman, yet managed to equal another student for valedictorian of his high school class - but graciously lost the coin toss for the top honor.
Northern Arizona University at Flagstaff, Arizona, became George's home for the next four years. George sang in the Glee Club, majored in English, and became life-long friends with both students and professors. His close college buddy Waldo Larson continues to this day to regale George's family with memories of adventures with young George, including a hike down into the Grand Canyon with only one canteen of water and no money, their provisions having been sent ahead of them by U.S. Mail mule train to the bottom. George was honored as a distinguised alumnus by his alma mater in 1983.
George embarked on a career in the U.S. Navy when the United States entered World War II. Serving as a communications officer in the Pacific, George survived a kamikaze attack by Japanese Zeros on the USS Curtiss on June 21, 1945, near Okinawa that killed 35 men, wounded 21, and put the ship out of commission for months. After WWII ended, George enlisted in the Navy Reserves and was called back to active duty during the Korean Conflict during which he served in San Diego, California.
Between tours of duty with the U.S. Navy, George went back to school for a Masters Degree in English at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. There, he met a young librarian, also a masters English student, Virginia Lee Casey, whom he married in 1949. Their first child, Barbara Jo, was born at the Navy Hospital in San Diego. After his second tour of active duty, George began his doctoral degree at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. Upon completion of his PhD, George and his family relocated to Springfield, Missouri, in 1955, where George began his career as an English professor. He was appointed department head in 1963, and served in that capacity for 22 years, teaching literature, journalism, and childrens' literature, reviewing books, editing literary publications, and pounding out memos on his vintage Royal typewriter. A colleague said that "Under his leadership the department grew to be one of the largest academic departments on campus, yet Gleason's door was always open to students and faculty."
Dr. Gleason was the father of four children: Barbara, Anne, Victoria, and Randy, each of whom would graduate from college and relocate to cities far from Springfield, Missouri, where George and Virginia continued to live. Dr. and Mrs. Gleason's later years involved traveling to visit their children, Virginia's parents in West Virginia, George's mother in Boulder City, Nevada, and his sister in Los Angeles who had become Sister Georgina Gleason. They also enjoyed foreign adventures to Tahiti, Ireland, England, Italy, Germany, the Peruvian Amazon, Cameroon, China and Tibet.
George was an avid organic gardener and a gourmet cook, complementary endeavors that he enjoyed until the last years of his life. He greatly enjoyed dining out for lunch with his friend and colleague, Dr. Robert Berndt. He was a lifelong member of the Democratic Party and served often as a pollworker during elections. He enjoyed judging high school debate tournaments. Most of all, however, he dedicated his time to helping his students, many of whom still recalled his generous assistance many years after he had passed away.
By: Anne Gleason
George Donald Gleason was best known as a longtime Department Head and Professor, English Department, Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri. Dr. Gleason joined the MSU faculty in 1955 after completing his Doctorate in English at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. Dr. Gleason's service to MSU was recognized most recently in 2002 when he was included in the inaugural group of inductees to the MSU Wall of Fame, an honor given to selected employees of the university who had significantly contributed to the success and positive collegiate experience of students.
Born in Butte, Montana, George's mother, Anne (Grogan) Stipec, was the eighteen-year-old daughter of a coal miner, and his father, Matt Stipec, was a coal miner who had recently immigrated from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as it was then known. This marriage was short-lived, and when his mother remarried and moved the family to Salt Lake City, his mother became Anne Louise Gleason and her new husband, Joseph George Gleason, became little George's father. George's sister, Delores Louise Gleason, was four years younger than George, and in the isolation of the mining camps the two would prove to be amiable companions and co-conspirators.
The move to Salt Lake City was only the first of many relocations for the family. As economic conditions improved or worsened, the mines at which George's father was able to find work either boomed or busted. His mother took on work as a camp cook, rental agent, or cleaner in order to help make ends meet. Sometimes, however, the ends didn't meet, and the family would find themselves on the road again searching for work and living in their car, or in a tent, or once in a hobo camp under a bridge. Generally, though, when Joe Gleason was employed, the mining camps provided some sort of available housing, though sometimes it was a wooden platform covered by a tent.
George and his mother would make forays into the desert to shoot cottontail rabbits for dinner with the family's .22 rifle. He learned how to kill rattlesnakes and red racers and to look out for tarantulas in his bedroll. Though they were tempting, he was ordered not to play in the mines' tailings ponds. There were no other students in his eighth grade "class", so George spent that year reading, a pastime he thoroughly enjoyed. Later, he endured a two-hour bus ride across the Arizona desert each way between Oatman and his high school in Kingman, yet managed to equal another student for valedictorian of his high school class - but graciously lost the coin toss for the top honor.
Northern Arizona University at Flagstaff, Arizona, became George's home for the next four years. George sang in the Glee Club, majored in English, and became life-long friends with both students and professors. His close college buddy Waldo Larson continues to this day to regale George's family with memories of adventures with young George, including a hike down into the Grand Canyon with only one canteen of water and no money, their provisions having been sent ahead of them by U.S. Mail mule train to the bottom. George was honored as a distinguised alumnus by his alma mater in 1983.
George embarked on a career in the U.S. Navy when the United States entered World War II. Serving as a communications officer in the Pacific, George survived a kamikaze attack by Japanese Zeros on the USS Curtiss on June 21, 1945, near Okinawa that killed 35 men, wounded 21, and put the ship out of commission for months. After WWII ended, George enlisted in the Navy Reserves and was called back to active duty during the Korean Conflict during which he served in San Diego, California.
Between tours of duty with the U.S. Navy, George went back to school for a Masters Degree in English at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. There, he met a young librarian, also a masters English student, Virginia Lee Casey, whom he married in 1949. Their first child, Barbara Jo, was born at the Navy Hospital in San Diego. After his second tour of active duty, George began his doctoral degree at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. Upon completion of his PhD, George and his family relocated to Springfield, Missouri, in 1955, where George began his career as an English professor. He was appointed department head in 1963, and served in that capacity for 22 years, teaching literature, journalism, and childrens' literature, reviewing books, editing literary publications, and pounding out memos on his vintage Royal typewriter. A colleague said that "Under his leadership the department grew to be one of the largest academic departments on campus, yet Gleason's door was always open to students and faculty."
Dr. Gleason was the father of four children: Barbara, Anne, Victoria, and Randy, each of whom would graduate from college and relocate to cities far from Springfield, Missouri, where George and Virginia continued to live. Dr. and Mrs. Gleason's later years involved traveling to visit their children, Virginia's parents in West Virginia, George's mother in Boulder City, Nevada, and his sister in Los Angeles who had become Sister Georgina Gleason. They also enjoyed foreign adventures to Tahiti, Ireland, England, Italy, Germany, the Peruvian Amazon, Cameroon, China and Tibet.
George was an avid organic gardener and a gourmet cook, complementary endeavors that he enjoyed until the last years of his life. He greatly enjoyed dining out for lunch with his friend and colleague, Dr. Robert Berndt. He was a lifelong member of the Democratic Party and served often as a pollworker during elections. He enjoyed judging high school debate tournaments. Most of all, however, he dedicated his time to helping his students, many of whom still recalled his generous assistance many years after he had passed away.
By: Anne Gleason
Born in Butte, Montana, George's mother, Anne (Grogan) Stipec, was the eighteen-year-old daughter of a coal miner, and his father, Matt Stipec, was a coal miner who had recently immigrated from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as it was then known. This marriage was short-lived, and when his mother remarried and moved the family to Salt Lake City, his mother became Anne Louise Gleason and her new husband, Joseph George Gleason, became little George's father. George's sister, Delores Louise Gleason, was four years younger than George, and in the isolation of the mining camps the two would prove to be amiable companions and co-conspirators.
The move to Salt Lake City was only the first of many relocations for the family. As economic conditions improved or worsened, the mines at which George's father was able to find work either boomed or busted. His mother took on work as a camp cook, rental agent, or cleaner in order to help make ends meet. Sometimes, however, the ends didn't meet, and the family would find themselves on the road again searching for work and living in their car, or in a tent, or once in a hobo camp under a bridge. Generally, though, when Joe Gleason was employed, the mining camps provided some sort of available housing, though sometimes it was a wooden platform covered by a tent.
George and his mother would make forays into the desert to shoot cottontail rabbits for dinner with the family's .22 rifle. He learned how to kill rattlesnakes and red racers and to look out for tarantulas in his bedroll. Though they were tempting, he was ordered not to play in the mines' tailings ponds. There were no other students in his eighth grade "class", so George spent that year reading, a pastime he thoroughly enjoyed. Later, he endured a two-hour bus ride across the Arizona desert each way between Oatman and his high school in Kingman, yet managed to equal another student for valedictorian of his high school class - but graciously lost the coin toss for the top honor.
Northern Arizona University at Flagstaff, Arizona, became George's home for the next four years. George sang in the Glee Club, majored in English, and became life-long friends with both students and professors. His close college buddy Waldo Larson continues to this day to regale George's family with memories of adventures with young George, including a hike down into the Grand Canyon with only one canteen of water and no money, their provisions having been sent ahead of them by U.S. Mail mule train to the bottom. George was honored as a distinguised alumnus by his alma mater in 1983.
George embarked on a career in the U.S. Navy when the United States entered World War II. Serving as a communications officer in the Pacific, George survived a kamikaze attack by Japanese Zeros on the USS Curtiss on June 21, 1945, near Okinawa that killed 35 men, wounded 21, and put the ship out of commission for months. After WWII ended, George enlisted in the Navy Reserves and was called back to active duty during the Korean Conflict during which he served in San Diego, California.
Between tours of duty with the U.S. Navy, George went back to school for a Masters Degree in English at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. There, he met a young librarian, also a masters English student, Virginia Lee Casey, whom he married in 1949. Their first child, Barbara Jo, was born at the Navy Hospital in San Diego. After his second tour of active duty, George began his doctoral degree at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. Upon completion of his PhD, George and his family relocated to Springfield, Missouri, in 1955, where George began his career as an English professor. He was appointed department head in 1963, and served in that capacity for 22 years, teaching literature, journalism, and childrens' literature, reviewing books, editing literary publications, and pounding out memos on his vintage Royal typewriter. A colleague said that "Under his leadership the department grew to be one of the largest academic departments on campus, yet Gleason's door was always open to students and faculty."
Dr. Gleason was the father of four children: Barbara, Anne, Victoria, and Randy, each of whom would graduate from college and relocate to cities far from Springfield, Missouri, where George and Virginia continued to live. Dr. and Mrs. Gleason's later years involved traveling to visit their children, Virginia's parents in West Virginia, George's mother in Boulder City, Nevada, and his sister in Los Angeles who had become Sister Georgina Gleason. They also enjoyed foreign adventures to Tahiti, Ireland, England, Italy, Germany, the Peruvian Amazon, Cameroon, China and Tibet.
George was an avid organic gardener and a gourmet cook, complementary endeavors that he enjoyed until the last years of his life. He greatly enjoyed dining out for lunch with his friend and colleague, Dr. Robert Berndt. He was a lifelong member of the Democratic Party and served often as a pollworker during elections. He enjoyed judging high school debate tournaments. Most of all, however, he dedicated his time to helping his students, many of whom still recalled his generous assistance many years after he had passed away.
By: Anne Gleason
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