John A. Hoagland 1936-2012

 

John A. Hoagland

June 15, 1936-

June 16,2012

 

NEWPORT NEWS - John A. Hoaglund died peacefully with his family by his side on June 16, 2012, after a long battle with cancer.

John was born to Rudolph and Doris Hoaglund in Houston, Texas, on June 15, 1936. He spent his childhood in Sacramento, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, and Lexington, Ky. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and, after training at Quantico, was stationed in Okinawa and at South Camp, near Mount Fuji. Following the death of his father in 1955 – John's mother had passed away the year before – he returned to the States to care for his younger brother, Bob.

In 1957, John traveled to Europe and studied there on the G.I. Bill, first at the Universities of Munich and Vienna and thereafter at the Free University of Berlin, where he received his Doctorate of Philosophy. After lecturing for five years in English and Philosophy at the Free University, he joined the Philosophy Department of Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va., in 1972.

John taught classes in Ancient and Modern Philosophy, Critical Thinking, Logic, and Aesthetics. He served as chair of the department for nine years, developing and furthering its Critical Thinking Program during his tenure. In addition to authoring a textbook in Critical Thinking and a number of scholarly articles, he attended and read papers at numerous conferences and was considered an internationally recognized expert in the fields of critical thinking, logic, and aesthetics. Some of his research focused on Pre-Socratic Philosophy and Modern Art as well as the world of art forgery.

John loved to teach and instill in his students an interest in philosophy and an appreciation of the arts. He enjoyed serving as a faculty advisor to the Socrates CafE, a student-run philosophy discussion group that was close to his heart as it reminded him of his own student days in Europe. In 2011, John retired as professor emeritus after 39 years of teaching.

During his career he was awarded the Berlin Senate Merit Scholarship, the John F. Kennedy Institute Doctoral Award, the American Council of Learned Societies Travel Grant Competition, the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar in Music Criticism at Berkeley, California, and a Senior Fulbright Reward Fellowship at the University of Bergen, Norway.

John was a member of numerous national and international scholarly associations including the American Philosophical Association, the American Society for Aesthetics, the Association for Informal Logic and Critical Thinking, the British Society of Aesthetics, the International Society for the Study of Argumentation, and the Society for Business Ethics. He served for many years on the Executive Committee and as president of the Association for Informal Logic and Critical Thinking.

John always held a deep appreciation of the Fine and Performing Arts. As an art lover, he believed in the importance of studying the original artwork, which led him to visit museums all over Europe and the U.S. He enjoyed listening to classical music on his favorite local radio station and seldom missed performances by the Virginia Symphony or the Virginia Opera. John loved books; he was a voracious reader of not only literature and scholarly works but also popular fiction and nonfiction. His lifelong interest in languages extended to Ancient Greek, Latin, German, Swedish, French, and Spanish. In his leisure time, he liked playing tennis, gardening, running, and being at the beach with his family. An avid traveler throughout his life, John took many trips to Europe. His favorite destinations were France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. He also traveled extensively within the U.S. and enjoyed family vacations in the Caribbean.

A wonderful and devoted husband and father, John leaves behind Lilian, his loving wife of 46 years; son, Glen Hoaglund and wife Jessica; daughter, Larissa Hoaglund and husband Thomas; sisters-in-law, Maj-Britt Frangos and Barbara O'Leary; nephew, Per Nilsson with family; and niece, Dawn Hoaglund with family. John is sorely missed by all of us who knew and loved him dearly.

A memorial service with time for sharing will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, June 28, at W. J. Smith & Son Funeral Home, 210 Harpersville Road, Newport News, VA 23601.

The family suggests memorial contributions be made to WHRO FM 90.3, at 757-889-9334 or by email to rachel.jordan@whro.org.