In Memory
John F. Tafel 1953-1980 Social Studies
JOHN F. TAFEL
TAFEL
JOHN F., age 87, passed on March 26, 2010. Beloved husband of the late Isabelle, loving father of Jonathan Tafel (Christina) and Beth Tafel-Shuster (James). He is also survived by his grand-children Alison Barber, Jonathan, Jesse and Jake Tafel and James Tafel-Shuster, great grandsons Benjamin and Daniel Barber, brothers Rudolph and Louis Tafel and his devoted companion Alice Simeti. Relatives and friends are invited to greet his family Tuesday 6 to 7:30 P.M. LAMBIE FUNERAL HOME, 8000 Rowland Ave. (at Rhawn St.). Service to follow at 7:30 PM. Interment private. In lieu of flowers memorials to Holmesburg Baptist Church 7927 Frankford Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19136 would be appreciated.
JOHN F., age 87, passed on March 26, 2010. Beloved husband of the late Isabelle, loving father of Jonathan Tafel (Christina) and Beth Tafel-Shuster (James). He is also survived by his grand-children Alison Barber, Jonathan, Jesse and Jake Tafel and James Tafel-Shuster, great grandsons Benjamin and Daniel Barber, brothers Rudolph and Louis Tafel and his devoted companion Alice Simeti. Relatives and friends are invited to greet his family Tuesday 6 to 7:30 P.M. LAMBIE FUNERAL HOME, 8000 Rowland Ave. (at Rhawn St.). Service to follow at 7:30 PM. Interment private. In lieu of flowers memorials to Holmesburg Baptist Church 7927 Frankford Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19136 would be appreciated.
Published in Philadelphia Inquirer
Gail Wright (1970)
John Tafel, Ms. Schmidt, Mr. Cianni and Ms. Mangano were the four best instructors I ever had in high school. They were passionate about teaching and truly cared. All of extremely high integrity, I wanted to be more like all of them. They challenged us and set the best example for our young minds to aspire to as adults.I never liked any history class until John Tafel. I looked forward to his classes. What does that say about his methodology ... only the very best. I can ever remember where I sat in his classroom.
He was always supportive of curious minds and was not one to criticize, but he did give us rules to follow, something that not many teachers do today. I think those rules or guidelines were meant to give us structure for adulthood. He taught far more than history. For me, he gave me a way to organize my thinking and a way to learn that helped me throughout college and life.
I wish I could have met up with him again before he passed. Those teachers during our time at Bensalem were all special and so influential to us. We just never knew it at the time.
Gail Wright, Class of 1970
James F. Kesler (1958)
We were blessed by many wonderful and talented teachers. John Tafel stands out in my memory after 52 years to one of the best.
Jim Kesler class of 1958
Nancy Cutler (Womack) (1963)
Mr. Tafel was very inspirational and a wonderful teacher. Rest in peace.
Nancy (Cutler) Womack, Class of 1963
Stephen H. Turner (1968)
I remember having Mr. Tafel for history in 1967 or '68, and his comical take on the world as it was back then. His "swinish multitude" and "great unwashed" always kept the class in stitches whenever he would expound on politics or mass intellect. He was a good-natured curmudgeon...one who will be hard to replace, I would imagine, ANYWHERE, leastways Southeastern Pennsylvania...
Good hunting, Mr. T, you were one of the best of a good lot....
Dale Sinclair (Lenat) (1962)
I agree that Mr. Tafel was a very nice guy. I had him for both American History and POD. He always treated me with respect even thought our political views were diametrically opposed. My mother had cordial conversations with him at PTA meetings. However, sitting in class listening to his very conservative opinions could be infuriating to someone who didn't share them. I remember going home to my parents and saying, "You'll never guess what he said today!" After 50 years I only recall one especially egregious pronouncement. He said death in war was OK because you went to heaven. Well, for my family and, I would say most others, this belief offers little comfort. My 19 year old uncle was killed in WWII and my family never got over it.
Karen L. Fox (Fox) (1972)
Rita Schmidt and John Tafel were absolutely the best teachers I ever had at any level. I remember him drawing large clouds on the blackboard to represent ideas. "History isn't memorizing dates - it's examining ideas!" he'd say. Warm, funny, kind and smart. Rare combination. He'll be missed as an excellent teacher and an extraordinary man.
Karen Fox
'72
Robert K. Haywood (1968)
Math was my favorite subject, and social studies/ history my least favorite until I had Mr Tafel for POD! He should go down as one of Bensalem's finest teachers.
Bob Haywood, class of 1968
Karen Burgio (Hoy) (1971)
I remember that Mr. Tafel was a terrific teacher, and that he would tell some of the most amazing stories. At times I thought he said outlandish things to see if we were paying attention. He always told us that he kept his wife in the basement--he would let her out every once in a while, he said. One year, a group of us decided to dress up in costumes and visit his house for Halloween. His wife opened the door, and of course we all immediately exclaimed that she wasn't locked up in the basement! She rolled her eyes and shook her head and laughed and we started to tease him about not telling us the truth. He continued the joke saying it was a special occassion so he let her come out of her hovel. He seemed very pleased that we had come to visit--and that we were in on his joke, too. He was one of those teachers who made a lasting impression on my life.
Karen Burgio '71
Courtland Lynn (1966)
I so greatly admired Mr. Tafel when I had him for American History that I was inspired to become an American History teacher too. I regret that I never went back BHS while he was still there to tell him. I also liked Mr. Hess at Snyder in 8th grade.
Courtland Lynn '66
Thornton Wagner (1966)
Mr.Tafel made history interesting.One of my favorite teachers!