John Daeschlein, 48, a 7th-grade teacher at Glenside Middle School in Glendale Heights who touched thousands of lives in his history and social studies classes, died of a heart attack while driving his car on Saturday, May 25.
“There are thousands of former 7th-grade students who have been taught their geography lessons by John,” said Queen Bee Schools District 16 Supt. James White, who hired Mr. Daeschlein when White was principal of the school.
“He was an all-around kind of teacher who was also a basketball coach and club sponsor … The kids knew he loved them, but they also knew he was going to be strict with them, but always in a positive way,” White said.
Born in Saginaw, Mich., Mr. Daeschlein spent his childhood there struggling through several illnesses before he was 5 years old, his mother said. “There was difficulty teaching him how to read because of that. But when he did learn, he didn’t stop,” said his mother, Marjorie.
Mr. Daeschlein was always a history buff, his mother said. He would save his money when he was a child to buy a book on the Civil War.
Mr. Daeschlein graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in education in 1976. That same year he married his wife, Karen. The couple moved to Carol Stream, where Mr. Daeschlein took a position with the Wheaton school system. Three years later he became the 7th-grade social studies teacher at Glenside.
“John loved teaching,” his mother said. “He once told me he couldn’t imagine doing anything else with his life.”
Mr. Daeschlein also received his master’s degree from Northern Illinois University with a specialty in learning disabilities and behavioral disorders.
Outside the classroom, Mr. Daeschlein lived for his three children, his wife said. “Whenever it came to the children, his heart just melted,” she said.
Mr. Daeschlein was very generous, his wife said. “He would make many, many anonymous donations to people without them knowing,” his wife said. One year, Mr. Daeschlein gave blood to help a student who had cancer.
Other survivors include a daughter, Leanne; two sons, David and Adam; his father, William; a brother, Michael; and a sister, Kathy Ritter.
Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday in Williams-Kampp Funeral Home, 430 E. Roosevelt Rd., Wheaton. Services will be held at 11:30 a.m. Thursday in the funeral home.
