Birth date: Dec 16, 1949 Death date: Apr 11, 2010
Joseph J. Kortan, age 60, passed away Sunday, April 11, 2010 at St. John West Shore Hospital following a sudden illness. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and had been a resident of North Olmsted since 1961 moving from Westlake. J Read Obituary
Our deepest sympathies to your family. I hope the words in John 5;28,29 will give you hope and comfort.
I was very sad when I opened the paper and saw that Mr. Kortan had passed.
He was my ninth grade math teacher at Fay (1979-1980). He was always the one that I remember most. I think it was because he never minded that we threw spitballs when he turned his back. He always had a smile on his face when he turned around.
Sometimes he would pull detention duty and, since I spent a good amount of time in there, it was always welcome because he never cared if we talked the entire hour. He started the conversations a lot of the time and it would always turn into an algonquian roundtable....unless, of course, someone came into the room,..someone with authority,...and then it would be as quiet as a country church on a Friday night.
I remember one time he complimented me on my new Pink Floyd t-shirt. (It was of "The Wall"). He then explained the entire story to me. (He never struck me as a fan of Floyd, however.)
I don't remember any of the other teachers there.
I remember Mr. Kortan. He was one in a million.
The world is a darker place today.
My condolences to his family.
Respectfully,
Dietrich (that's what he used to call me)
Joe is someone who loved to teach. As a substitute, he always had great enthusiasm for the classroom and loved to communicate with the staff and students. I am sorry for your loss. He will truly be missed.
Our sincere condolences to you and yours. We loved Joe; he will be missed! We could ALWAYS count on Joe for his continuity in teaching our lessons to our students when we were absent from classes; he so enjoyed teaching math as well as teaching math to the kids. Thank you for supporting Joe throughout his contributing years in education within the PCSD. We are most appreciative. Again, our condolences.
My condolences to you on the loss of your son. I knew Joe through Parma High when he would substitute. A true gentleman and scholar.
I am so sorry for your loss. I knew Joe through Parma High during his years of substituting and had greatly enjoyed his humor and friendliness. He will be sadly missed. A true gentleman.
