John Frederic Feldhusen

William Asher (left), College of Education professor emeritus, presenting John Feldhusen, College of Education distinguished professor and director emeritus, a Gifted Education Resource Institute (GERI) award in recognition of his contributions to the field of gifted education in November 2007

May 5, 1926 - June 14, 2009

John Frederick Feldhusen passed away on June 14, 2009, at his home at Plymouth Harbor, Florida. A memorial service was held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, June 18 at Saint Armands Key Lutheran Church, 40 North Adams Drive, Sarasota.

John was born in Waukesha, Wis., on May 5, 1926. In 1954 he married Hazel Artz; John and Hazel enjoyed 52 years of marriage; Hazel passed
away on Sept. 1, 2007. John is survived by two daughters, Anne Feldhusen of Palo Alto, Calif., and Jeanne Feldhusen of Tenafly, N.J. John was a loving husband, father and grandfather and will always be remembered for his special attention to his grandchildren, Emily and Christopher Jager (children of Jeanne Feldhusen and Gerald Jager); Emily and Christopher will miss their Grandpa very much.

John grew up in Wisconsin and attended University of Wisconsin where he earned a B.A., M.S. and Ph.D. He started his academic career at the
University of Wisconsin as an assistant professor and subsequently in 1961 he accepted a position as associate professor of educational
psychology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. John spent almost four decades in West Lafayette, where he retired as a
distinguished professor in gifted education at Purdue University. Dr. Feldhusen was the founder of the Purdue Gifted Education Resource
Institute in 1977 and continued as its director until 1995. During his distinguished career he had wide influence on gifted education and
published more than 300 articles, chapters and books. He enjoyed mentoring and collaborating with his colleagues and was thankful for the many, many good friends he made in his career. A few of his awards include the International Award for Excellence in research from the
World Council for Gifted and Talented Children in 1997 and the Mensa Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. He also served as the editor of
Gifted Child Quarterly and served as the association editor for the NAGC.