Department Announces Passing of Professor Emeritus John Spangler

We are saddened to announce the death of Professor-Emeritus John Spangler who passed away unexpectedly on March 30, 2020.

John was an undergraduate physics major at K-State. After completing his graduate education at Duke, a commission in the Army and a short stay at DePauw University, Dr. Spangler rejoined the K-State Physics Department as an Assistant Professor in 1965. During his time at K-State he was promoted to Associate Professor and Professor. While at K-State, John was committed to teaching and the improvement of teaching and learning of physics. He helped establish close ties with area community college physics faculty and contributed significantly to the discussion that resulted in the establishment of a physics education research group at K-State. He and Prof. Dudley Williams wrote a calculus-based physics textbook, Physics for Science and Engineering, which was published by Van Nostrand in 1981.

In 1985, he moved to St. Norbert's College in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He retired from St. Norbert's in 1998. At that time he and his wife, Margaret, returned to Manhattan.

After his return John occasionally taught in our Department and collaborated on research with Talat Rahman's group.

In recent years John was very involved in several civic organizations, including the United Methodist Church, Masons, Boy Scouts and Master Gardeners.

John was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret, and his son, David. He is survived by four daughters, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A longer description of John's life and contributions is available https://themercury.com/obituaries/john-spangler/article_6000152a-5d2a-5898-8882-6638c2ea81fd.html.

Submitted by Dean Zollman