Philip D. Goldhagen

Philip David Goldhagen, 79, formerly of Tallahassee, died Friday, October 5, 2012, at his home on Orange Lake in Alachua County, Florida. He is now reunited with his very beloved wife Louise whom he missed every day of his life since her death nearly seven years ago. Phil was born in Philadelphia to Rose and Harry Goldhagen. A 1951 graduate of Miami Beach High School, Phil went on to earn four degrees from the University of Florida in Gainesville (BA ’55, MEd ’59, EdS ‘63 and EdD ’71). A life-long educator, Phil taught 10th grade World History at Bradford County High School in Starke, Florida and Logic and Humanities at Miami-Dade Junior College. He went on to work in Education Administration for the balance of his career, including co-authoring the Florida Study of Vocational-Technical Education for the State Department of Education; directing research for Daytona Beach Junior College; supervision of educational activities for the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai Brith; and a myriad of responsibilities as the Director of Development for Daytona Beach Community College. Phil went to work for the Florida Legislature, where he continued to work for legislation and appropriations benefitting education. His positions included the chief staffer to the Representative from Daytona Beach, aide to the Chief of Staff in the Speaker’s Office and then in the Commissioner’s office at the Department of Education. He continued to work at the Department of Education until his retirement. Always thinking outside the box, it was his idea to include universities on the Florida automobile license plate program. He was an early advocate of instructional television in schools, and a proponent of independent grants for instructional television programming. The career accomplishment of which Phil was the most proud was development and implementation of the common course numbering system for the State Universities in Florida which was subsequently adopted nationwide. Phil served in the United States Marine Corps. While on Okinawa, he worked as a reporter and public information writer for the Division newspaper. He finished his military service at Little Creek Military base in Virginia where he learned and then taught others to make amphibious landings. Phil was a happy man who always had a spring in his step. He was fond of telling anyone who would listen just how lucky he was in his life; with his wife, his daughters and their husbands, his grandsons and his pets. Phil loved classical music and gardening. He was an accomplished wildlife photographer, a skilled baker and an avid reader with a strong interest in World History and the Civil War. He was an inveterate Gator fan, never missing a football game. He is survived by his two daughters, Kitty Herda (and husband Craig) of Jacksonville and Sanlin Cory (and husband Greg) of San Francisco; and two grandsons, Egan Green of Jacksonville and Haden Cory of San Francisco. Bevis Funeral Home of Tallahassee (850-385-2193) is handling arrangements. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Citrus County of the Nature Coast, Attn: Alachua Team, 150 North Main Sreet, High Springs, FL 32643. In keeping with his wishes, burial with military honors is at Barrancas National Cemetery, on Tuesday, October 9th. A celebration of Phil’s life is being planned.

Tributes

Philip D. Goldhagen

October 5, 2012