John Joseph Whalen III

John Joseph Whalen was a teacher. Were he writing this, no doubt he would be content to stop there. John was born to James Ternes and Johanna Zieren Whalen on Jan. 22, 1928, in Portland, Oregon, but the Whalens were soon living in Wyoming, settling in the hardscrabble coal-mining town of Rock Springs.

Called "Rock Bottom" by more than a few who have been there, the town shaped John's perspective on life and the people he would meet, forging both his character and his determination to escape the fate of his father, who had started in the coal mines at the age of 15. By any means possible, he would cast his lot elsewhere and, something like Huck Finn, "light out for the Territory."

When James became a Federal Mine Inspector in West Virginia and moved there with Johanna, John attended Regis Jesuit High School in Denver for his senior year. An all-city basketball player, he found himself somewhat unprepared for the rigors of a Jesuit education, but a hook was deeply set. He survived academically at Regis, but being challenged intellectually somehow changed John, electrifying his imagination and showing him he would need, unlike Huck Finn, more than a knapsack to get where he wanted to be. In November, 1945, still only 17 years old, he enlisted in the Army.

Honorably discharged as a sergeant, John tested California's St. Mary's and Cincinnati's Xavier University for a semester each before settling in at Loyola University in Chicago, where he met Helen Louise Wiley. A month younger than John, Helen was from the South Side, where her family had lived for four generations. She often recalled John as a skinny young student barely surviving on the G.I. bill, living on tins of Argentine beef and hominy and loving her for the relatively sumptuous meals he enjoyed weekly at her parents' home. Twenty-three years old, they were married on Sept. 8, 1951.

With Helen, John lived on the North Side, soaking up the big city life and becoming a lifelong fan of the Blackhawks, Bears and Cubs (not all of his decisions were wise). For a few years John laid brick in Chicago, and then a summer in Alaska, where he first learned the Bureau of Indian Affairs had teaching positions for couples. Back in Chicago, he taught at Kosciuszko Elementary School for three years while finishing a master's degree in history at night at Loyola. He and Helen each took the requisite courses at Chicago Teachers College, and in 1957 were packing up a few belongings and their first three children – Christian, Teresa, and Damian – to light out for, literally, the Territory of Alaska.

Kotzebue, an Eskimo village north of the Arctic Circle, was a challenging adventure for a young family. With no indoor plumbing, they melted ice for water, heated it on the stove for baths in a washtub and dealt with snowdrifts taller than their house. Kotzebue was intriguing to John, but perhaps not so alien – he had seen desolate landscape in Wyoming. For Helen, a Chicagoan, the contrast was as stark and lonesome as the tundra. Always the trouper, she endured the hardships, including a separation of over a month in 1958 when she traveled to Anchorage to have their fourth child, Lisa.

A return to the States in 1959 found John teaching in Stevensville, followed by a homecoming of sorts for him – teaching from 1960-63 in Red Lodge the town where his father had grown up. It was there that his last child, Mercy, was born in 1962.

Again exhibiting a touch of the vagabond, in 1963 John moved to Missoula to teach English at what was soon to become known as Hellgate High School. In a matter of months, he was made head of the department. Recognizing the great effort it took to be an effective teacher, John constantly worked at it, even spending one summer in graduate studies at the University of Colorado. John's twenty years at Hellgate were not an unbroken string, however, marked as they were by a one-year hiatus born, once again, of his wanderlust. John had begun to look seriously at opportunities in places as disparate as Micronesia and Bellevue, Washington. In 1967, it looked as if he were headed to the latter when – as he always insisted – God reached out for him. Instead, he was paid to hone his craft again, this time at the University of Illinois, where he earned his Advanced Certificate of Education.

Apparently God was looking out for Helen (Micronesia?) as well, because John finally seemed ready to settle down. Recognizing the value of the strong friendships already established, and the affordable college opportunity for his children, he returned to Missoula and Hellgate in 1968. John was always implementing new ways to reach all students, whose growth in writing and reading he truly valued, whether they were bound for college or straight for the workforce. Rock Springs and the years beyond it had endowed John with the ability to empathize with any student, and he was fortunate to practice his craft in an "old school" era of teaching to students, and not to tests. The number of lives he touched in all of his teaching is incalculable.

After retiring in 1984, John's personal life continued in much the same manner: running (later walking) daily, doing the NYT Sunday Crossword, fly fishing on Rock Creek, cutting firewood, scavenging for oak furniture to restore, jawing at Bourquin's Conoco, devouring the public library, gardening, soaking in his hot tub, and reading, always reading – history, biography, theology or the latest JFK conspiracy theory – and writing, finally completing The Education of Tom Riordan, a fictional account of a Rock Springs youth. John and Helen also traveled occasionally, sometimes to Chicago, California, Red Lodge, Rock Springs or just Spokane. In 2010, John lost his beloved older brother, Jim, and the following year his loving German Shepherd, Maggie. He got over neither of these deaths.

Catholicism was central to John's life from birth, and he was a faithful member of St. Anthony's Parish for over 50 years. His and Helen's faith and worldview gave their children from an early age something each child cherishes – a respect for those different in color, origin, religion or circumstances. His love of books, knowledge and adventure shaped his children and strengthened them in ways he could not have foreseen. We are all grateful to have been along for the ride. John died at home on Wednesday, May 20, 2015.

John was preceded in death by his parents, James T. and Johanna Zieren Whalen; sister Elizabeth; brothers Thomas and James. He is survived by Helen, his wife of 63 years, his five children, Christian (Aida Labto), Teresa Francis (David), Damian, Lisa Clark (James) and Mercy Clevenger (Hal); his eight grandchildren, Sean, Nicholas, Connor and Morgan Whalen, Claire and Molly Clevenger, Camden Francis and Johanna Clark; and one great-grandchild, Isaac Whalen.

John's pallbearers will be Lela Autio, Ken Ballinger, Evan Barrett, Doug Brown, Jim Bullock, Jim Burrington, Tom Demmons, Bill Haffey, Mike Persha, Pierre Sonderer and John Blanchette.

Vigil is at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17. Funeral and reception Thursday, June 18, at 11 a.m., all at St. Anthony's Church. Donations honoring John can be made to Missoula Public Library, the Poverello Center, or the Food Bank, each an organization close to his heart.
Read John Whalen III's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.