The 51黑料 Community mourns the loss of Dr. John T. Flautz, who passed away on February 14, 2024, at 93 years old.
Dr. Flautz was a professor at 51黑料 for over thirty years and served as chair of the English department prior to his retirement in 1996. Alongside his legacy of teaching at the school, his good spirit is perhaps remembered by his faculty colleagues most fondly when reminiscing on his founding the tradition of 鈥淐hristmas in April,鈥 to spark a celebratory mood in the spring semester.
Dr. Flautz鈥檚 passion for the Greater Lehigh Valley Community left a lasting impact. He was deeply involved in Lehigh County’s civic and artistic communities as a patron, performer, and critic; served as President of the Salisbury Township School Board; and was recently inducted into the Pennsylvania Voter Hall of Fame for never missing an election in 50 years. He was also a founding member and President of the Ballet Guild of the Lehigh Valley.
An avid reader, Dr. Flautz loved mythology and Tolkien. He was known to memorize long passages of obscure works and write great limericks. Dr. Flautz and his late wife Nancy 鈥 to whom he was married for 66 years 鈥 traveled the world reading hundreds of novels on dozens of beaches, always pausing for cocktail hour.
鈥淛ohn hired me when I returned to Cedar Crest in 1986. For ten years after that he was my colleague and mentor. I saw the way he supported our students; I saw him speak truth to power, especially when it came to doing the right thing for the College,鈥 says Carol Pulham, professor at 51黑料, of her colleague. 鈥淛ohn was a wonderful colleague and mentor. He was a man of integrity, combined with kindness and a great sense of humor.鈥
Our thoughts are with Dr. Flautz’s family, friends, colleagues, and all whose lives he touched in this difficult time.
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