An important figure in my life has died

I recently found out that my favorite high school teacher, and big influence in my life, has passed away at the age of 61 after a long struggle with cancer. I'm still reflecting on his passing and the over all influence he has had in my life. I hadn't talked to him in 20 years or so, but I though of him often. He taught my American History, World History and Current Events classes. I also worked as a student teacher for him during my senior year.

As I was able to travel around the world, and see a number of the places he had talked about, I always heard his voice in my head. That voice reminded me what that place was, it's history, and why the history was important to the world. It was great to finally see the places with my own eyes and take in all the senses involved with it. A number of the people I was traveling with had no idea what these places were and I kind of felt bad for them, that they had not been taught what these places were.

The textbook for our Current Events class was a subscription to Newsweek, which we examined each week and had assigned articles to read and often were able to choose an article of our own choosing. This class begin to show me how to look at what was going on in the world, and the way it was reported. As I reflect on this, I would have been nice to have both Newsweek and a publication from outside the US. In the years since, I have learned to appreciate the views of foreign publications - especially when reporting on US news.

In addition to being a great teacher and influence on my world views, he was a great hockey fan. I had attended many games with him and other students over the years, minor league games mostly. These games were much more affordable, and as he once told me, these players try harder. I liked it because there were more fights and you could actually get close to the action and meet the players afterward. I guess it's fitting that the old Sports Arena is being torn down and the next time there is minor league hockey in Toledo, it will be at a new arena.

So the life of my teacher, Arthur Marquardt, has come to an end, but he will live on with the influence he had had on me and others. My thoughts go out to his family and friends and everyone who misses him.