Jack Kirtland, a social studies teacher, baseball coach and Fulbright scholar, died of cancer Thursday at Franklin Square Hospital Center. The Rossville resident was 58.
Born and raised in Lewisburg, Ohio, Mr. Kirtland earned his bachelor's degree in history, geography and political science from Morehead State University in Kentucky, where he was a member of the Blue Key National Honor Fraternity. He married his high school sweetheart, the former Beth Deisher.
After briefly teaching social studies in Cleveland, he moved to Essex in 1969 to teach in the Baltimore County public school system at what is now Deep Creek Middle School. While teaching, he earned his master's degree in education from Morgan State University in 1975.
After a decade at Deep Creek, Mr. Kirtland transferred to nearby Chesapeake High School, where he taught for 21 years.
His relaxed, interactive teaching style made Mr. Kirtland "more like a friend than an authoritative figure," said former student Shawn Milam.
"He loved teaching and was a natural for the job," said Eric Jasper, a fellow teacher at Deep Creek and Chesapeake.
Students were fond of his mummification lesson when Mr. Kirtland would choose one student to be the subject of a demonstration of the process; he would show what body parts were extracted, what tools were used, and wrap a small portion of the student. Mr. Jasper said not one student would walk away from his class not knowing the process and ingredients of mummification.
"We had a lot of fun because we both enjoyed teaching very much," Mr. Jasper said. "We played tricks on one another to keep things light. He was adept at that. He was loved by everyone in the department and the building."
He was chairman of both schools' social committees for many years and the faculty council for three years at Deep Creek. He was a member of Chesapeake's graduation committee, the Baltimore County Social Studies Textbook Committee and Middle States Evaluation Committee.
He also supervised student teachers for 11 years and spent one year as mentor of a first-year teacher.
In 1986, he was selected as a Fulbright scholar and traveled to Egypt as part of the government's international educational exchange program. He was chosen again a decade later and sent to Bulgaria and Romania. Both trips lasted two months.
During the interim years as a Fulbright recipient, he served as a reader in the selection process for the Fulbright-Hays Seminar Abroad Programs.
He retired in 2000 but was rehired to teach at Catonsville High School for two years. At the onset of his illness, he was working part time tutoring elementary pupils in remedial reading and math at the Roman Catholic Our Lady Queen of Peace School.
Mr. Kirtland was an active member of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Rosedale for 30 years and taught men's Sunday school there.
He coached baseball at Deep Creek, and then for Chesapeake's varsity baseball team for 20 years. He was highly respected for his wealth of baseball knowledge and for listening to the ideas of his players rather than just dictating to them.
On at least one occasion, Mr. Kirtland asked a group of experienced players for input before cutting players from the team.
"He was a player's coach," said Mr. Milam, a 1993 graduate who played first base for the school's Chesapeake Bayhawks. "You wanted to do well for Mr. Kirtland."
If a player needed extra batting practice, Mr. Kirtland would accompany him to the batting cage before school to feed balls into the pitching machine.
He worked for the Mason-Dixon Umpires Association as an umpire for recreational baseball leagues for many years.
"Fellow umpires liked working with him because they knew it would be a smooth game," said Mike Connors, a former Mason-Dixon umpire. "He knew the game, and he knew the rules. He got along with coaches and players."
Mr. Kirtland had many interests. Fascination with steam locomotives led him to travel throughout the country, occasionally just to ride trains. He also spent many hours working on a model train layout in his home. He enjoyed ballroom dancing and spent every Wednesday night dancing at the Belvedere Hotel.
He also enjoyed cooking and gardening. He used his mother's recipes but also enjoyed experimenting. Every year, his family looked forward to homegrown tomatoes from his vegetable garden.
A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. today at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 8212 Philadelphia Road.
In addition to his wife of 35 years, survivors include a daughter, Heather Kirtland of Baltimore; a son, Andrew Kirtland of Chicago; his mother, Catharine Wheeler of Daytona Beach, Fla.; and a sister, Sally Kirtland of Baltimore.
