Dr. Curtis L. Englebright

The Bowling Green Daily News Friday, November 28, 2008 11:50 AM CSTDr.

Curtis Lee Englebright, 80, of Bowling Green died at 9:10 p.m. Nov. 26, 2008, in Bowling Green.

The Sangamon County, Ill., native was born Oct. 13, 1928.

Prior to beginning his professional career as an educator, he played professional baseball as a third baseman in the Kitty League (Kentucky-Indiana-Tennessee).

He taught junior high school and coached boys’ basketball in southern Illinois and served as the assistant superintendent of Wayne County Schools in Fairfield, Ill. He completed his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in the field of education at Southern Illinois University. He joined the faculty of Western Kentucky University in 1967 as the director of Reading Services.

He taught graduate courses in Reading Education in the Department of Teacher Education and served as the departmental administrator for 23 years. In 1990, he became the dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Okla. In this capacity, he ushered the college through its national accreditation.

He directed a statewide study of teacher education in the 13 teacher education programs across the state. He was a talented administrator and teacher of teachers.

He brought tremendous passion and a sense of mission to the teaching profession and instilled both commitment and creativity in his students. He had resided in Bowling Green since his retirement in 1998 and was an active member of State Street Presbyterian Church and a supporter of Hilltopper athletics. He was a son of the late Charles Roy Englebright and Anna Stallings Englebright. He was preceded in death by a brother, Larry Englebright.

Funeral is at 2 p.m. Sunday at The Presbyterian Church, with burial at 9 a.m. Monday in Fairview Cemetery. Visitation is from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at J.C. Kirby & Son Funeral Home, Lovers Lane chapel, and begins at 1 p.m. Sunday at the church.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of donations to Dr. Curtis Lee Englebright Scholarship Fund, College Heights Foundation, WKU, 1906 College Heights Blvd. No. 41016, Bowling Green, KY 42101-1016.

Online condolences may be made at www.jckirbyandson.com.

Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Alice C. Englebright of Bowling Green; three daughters, Donna Denney and her husband, Michael, of Bowling Green, Jana Breckenridge and her husband, Brennan, of Franklin, Tenn., and Jill Fox and her husband, Ray, of Mansfield, Texas; two brothers, Clyde L. Englebright and his wife, Julia, of Carlsbad, N.M., and Allen Englebright and his wife, Nancy, of Paris, Ill; eight grandchildren, Patrick Denney and his wife, Kristin, Bethany Keltner and her husband, Ben, Allison Lundstrom and her husband, Paul, Curtis and Joseph Fox and Austin, Alec and Baylor Breckenridge; a great-granddaughter, Madelyn Denney; and numerous other family members and friends, including his friend and caregiver, Barbara Edmonds.