John Koegler

1926 - 2021  (95 years)

• Name	John Koegler
  Born	24 Mar 1926	Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Gender	Male
  Interesting	education
  Occupation	teacher
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-85088
  Died	20 Aug 2021
  Person ID	I85088	Generations
  Last Modified	6 Apr 2024

  
  

  Father	Dr. Arno Rufolf Koegler,   b. 1 May 1898, Wiesen, , Sachsen, Germany ,   d. 25 Feb 1991, Freeport (Kitchener), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 92 years)
  Mother	Emma Rosa Hoehlig,   b. 20 Jun 1897, Planitz, , Sachsen, Germany ,   d. 14 May 1962, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 64 years)
  Family ID	F22055	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Merl Elizabeth Betzner,   b. 1926,   d. 9 Feb 2019, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 93 years)
  Married	1947
  Last Modified	7 Apr 2024
  Family ID	F38722	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  John Koegler's teaching methods helped students excel By Valerie Hill Special to the Record As a geography teacher, John Koegler was innovative, a rule breaker and connected with his students in remarkable ways. Following John's death, Aug. 20, 2021, the memorial page was rich with comments from former Waterloo Collegiate students, many of who said he was the finest teacher they'd ever had. Others thanked him for helping them not only understand but grow to love geography, a subject that hadn't previously ranked high in their minds. John made the subject easier to understand because they were not relying on textbooks but through hands-on projects such as creating geographic or weather maps, even building weather stations. "He hated textbooks and said the only time he used them was when he was sick," said his son, Doug Koegler. John also didn't believe in exams as long as the students performed throughout their semester. No one could question his methods, given the students excelled, and he never once had to send a student to the principal's office. John was always in control, always engaging the teens. Hands-on projects proved particularly illuminating. Doug recalled that long before the digital age, John's students created what he thinks was the first colour land-use map for the City of Waterloo. "The students were given a map of a small section of Waterloo, went out and coded the map, returning to city hall to have the data placed onto a large base map," recalled Doug. John was born March 24, 1926, the middle child in a family of five and the first who was born in Waterloo after the family immigrated from Germany that same year. John's father, Arno Koegler, was an internationally recognized naturopath, president of the International Society of Naturopathic Physicians and president of Canada's first school of naturopathy, the Ontario College of Naturopathic Medicine. With such a successful father as his role model, it's not surprising John also set his own determined path. John initially chose geology but switched to geography as his field of study at McMaster University, which is where he met Merl Betzner, an education student. They married in 1947. After graduating, John completed teacher's college and accepted his first job in Strathroy in 1948. After a couple of years, the family moved to Kitchener, where John left teaching temporarily to work at Electrohome. Less than a year later, he was offered a teaching post at Collingwood Collegiate, where he built a state-of-the-art weather station as a teaching tool. John was in Collingwood until 1960 when he saw a want ad for teachers at the brand new Waterloo Collegiate. John was hired as the head of the geography department, and worked there while earning an honours degree in geography through Western University. Their children Sharon and Doug were both students of John and said there was never any awkwardness having their father as a teacher. "He made learning so much fun," said daughter, Sharon Kirsopp, recalling when the family would head to Alberta every summer to visit family and hike and camp in the mountains. From the Canadian shield to the prairies, then on to the Rocky Mountain foothills, there was much to explain to his kids as they drove across the country. Sharon laughs as she recalls how quiet the car would be, then her dad would pipe up "funny you should ask" before launching into a geography lesson about the passing landscape. No one had asked anything but that didn't stop John. "Everything with Dad was a lesson," said Sharon. John's relaxed teaching style, along with his sense of humour and ability to laugh at himself, endeared him to the students. For teachers, John was the one they went to for answers. His family called him the original Wikipedia for his encyclopedic knowledge. "He was the go-to guy," said Carol VanDyke, who had started at Waterloo Collegiate as a young teacher. In John, she found a mentor and friend. Over the years, John would introduce Carol and her husband to new experiences such as the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Stratford Festival. "He had a big influence on me," Carol said. "He was always encouraging us, always inspiring us." John also influenced Doug, a retired teacher who was named among Canada's most prominent geographers, winning a prestigious award from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. John's exceptional abilities were not limited to the classroom. He was a self-taught musician, woodworker and carpenter, a man who mastered any skill required. Retiring in 1983, John founded, Geovisual: Images for Canadian Geography Educators, travelling North America with Merl to shoot aerial photography. His photos are still used in classrooms across the country. Merl died in 2019, and John lived his final years in long-term care, his mind razor-sharp right until the end. Freelance writer Valerie Hill is a former Record reporter. She can be reached by email at vmhill296@gmail.com "John Koegler'S Teaching Methods Helped Students Excel". 2021. Therecord.Com. https://www.therecord.com/life/2021/09/27/john-koeglers-teaching-methods-helped-students-excel.html.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 24 Mar 1926 - Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth