Our friend has passed on – Hugh Curtler, teacher, coach, friend

I learned from our US expat friend in Ecuador, Lisa Brunetti, who writes under “Playamart – Zeebra Designs and Destinations,” that our blogging friend Hugh Curtler had passed away. Our mutual friend Jill Dennison has a wonderful tribute post, including pictures and links to some of his later posts. Lisa has added a terrific tribute as well, including a You Tube link. A link to both tributes are below.

Here is how Hugh defined himself in his “About” page:

“Hugh Mercer Curtler is a retired academic who taught philosophy and Humanities (Great Books) for 41 years in three different colleges and universities, his final 37 years being spent at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota. In addition to teaching full time, he founded and directed Southwest’s honors program and, for fifteen years, coached their championship women’s tennis team. To this point he has published thirteen books and numerous articles and reviews in professional journals. His successful coaching career led to induction in university and conference Halls of Fame plus the USTA Northern Hall of Fame; in 2006 he became Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Southwest.

Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, Hugh spent his early years on the East Coast before moving to the Midwest where he supplemented his academic work with avid reading and careful observation of the world around him. Hopefully, his blogs will reflect his wide range of interests.”

If I defined Hugh in a few words it would be “teacher, coach, friend.” Here is a note I posted on Jill’s tribute post to add to her words.

“Jill, this is a wonderful tribute to our friend. As you may recall, it was Hugh that sent me your way, saying I think you will like what this person writes about. He was ever the philosopher (but not pretentious), professor and coach. We bloggers did not fully appreciate the tennis coaching side of his persona. Without preaching it, I learned a lot about philosophy and great literature from Hugh.

He also was a staunch supporter of the environment, even inviting me to co-write an article for a magazine on perceptions of lay people on the environment and renewable energy. My first reaction to his invitation was ‘Hugh I don’t think I am qualified to write this,’ but he insisted for its purpose, I was. I would not have done it without his push and co-authorship.

Finally, his comments on other blogs will be missed. I always looked forward to what the professor might add, taking some pleasure if he agreed with my post or supported my comment. I wish your other readers who do not know Hugh’s work will check these suggested posts out. Thanks, my friend, Keith”

Please check out these wonderful tributes to Hugh. He will be missed, but maybe we can help his words to live on.

A Short Tribute To A Good Man

Solid Ground