Charles R. Gildersleeve (1940-2009)

GILDERSLEEVE, MAFFITT, TETT, HEINTZ, JOHNSON

Posted By: Nevada Journal
Date: 10/28/2009 at 08:59:52

THE NEVADA JOURNAL, Nevada, Story County, Iowa, Thursday, October 22, 2009.

Charles R. Gildersleeve, age 69, of Omaha, NE passed away Saturday, October 10 2009 in Omaha, NE. He was born February 24, 1940 in Waterloo, Iowa to Lowell and Esther Gildersleeve, former Zearing, IA residents.

Survived by his beloved wife of 50 years, Pat; children, Joanna (Joe) Maffitt, Debra Gildersleeve and Cynthia Gildersleeve; grandchildren, Tyler and Kirsten; sister, Pam (Hub) Tett; sister-in-laws, Jeannine Heintz (Nevada, IA) & Carol Johnson (Winthrop, IA); nephews, nieces and many colleagues and good friends. Charles, known to his colleagues as “Chuck,” was a Professor of Geography in the Department of Geography-Geology at the University of Nebraska-Omaha where he had taught since 1964. He served as Chair of the Department from 1981-1988.

He lived his early life in Zearing, IA which was known to thousands of students in his classes as Cupcake Corners and home of the 40 horse hitch. He earned his doctorate in Geography from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1978, his M.A. in Geography at the University of Arizona in 1964 and his B.S. in Business Administration and Regional Planning at the University of Arizona in 1961.

His first love was teaching and over his career taught nearly 20,000 students in college classes. His primary teaching interests were in urban, economic and educational geography. He won numerous teaching awards at the University as well as from national professional groups and was extremely popular with students who regularly mentioned him in evaluations as a teacher “who made a difference” in their lives. Chuck was also very active in outreach to the community. He gave hundreds of talks and workshops to classes and teachers in K-12 schools around the state.

He was a co-founder of the Geographic Educators of Nebraska (GEON) and was faculty coordinator of the group from 1987-2007. He also was responsible for running the Nebraska Geographic Bee from 1988-2007 under the aegis of the National Geographic Society, in which tens of thousands of students learned to hone their geography skills and compete for trips to Washington D.C. Besides serving on numerous University committees he also served on the Omaha Planning Board from 1980-1985 and was active in working with various community groups and serving on statewide and local education committees.

The family held a private funeral on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 with burial in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Omaha. Memorials may be sent to the University of Nebraska Foundation in care of the Charles Gildersleeve Geography Scholarship Fund. John A. Gentleman Mortuaries were in charge of the services.

Please share your memories of Chuck and sign the online guestbook at www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookidb40721728223&cid=full.

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