Professor Ivan Rowe was a wonderfully educated person with a sprightly personality  who really and carefully helped develop programs for gifted children in this area of California which included Edison High School.  What a wonderful school for my youngest son to attend for all six years.

Cindy Silbert Rathwick was the Fresno Unified Program Developer.  Both of my sons benefited greatly from Friends of the Gifted Program.



Ivan was a good friend, a mentor, and an incredible professor of education at Fresno State.

I was an older student finishing up my elementary credential when I first met Ivan. A fellow student in one my classes asked if I was interested in finishing the last quarter in England? 
He invited me to an international exchange meeting that was preparing to leave in mid-March of 92’ and spend three months student teaching northwest of London. I decided at the last minute to attend as they needed one more student to be approved for the venture.

About the time Spring Break arrived we were already for a two week vacation mainly from the March and April rains. Ivan suggested that we head to Greece to find some sunshine and off we flew for the time of our lives. We flew into Athens and then headed by ferry to the islands of Mykonos, Naxos, and Santorini. This trip changed my life forever and Ivan was a big part of that. 

He was full of enthusiasm for life, passion, and great wit and humor. The teachers loved his jokes and his view of life.

I will never forgot those special times. When I heard that Ivan was retiring and going to spend time in their beautiful British garden behind their home, I thought about all the education students that would be missing out on Ivan’s teaching along with Dr. Arnie Nixon’s, the legendary reading professor. I do know that Ivan did take a few trips to New Zealand as he wrote me about them.

Ivan and Rosie had quite a life together – the professor and kindergarten teacher and their wonderful family. They touched the hearts and minds of so many.

Blessings to the Rowe Family – I will miss them until I too am just a wonderful memory.

Alex Robb and family – Tehachapi, CA 
4th grade teacher 2021




Dr. Rowe was one of the most influential people in my education, and I credit him, and his philosophy, for my success working with children in the classroom and at the Tulare County Office of Education.  

I quote him, each and every time I teach a seminar, writing on a huge banner, "The mind can only absorb as much as the bottom can endure!" and assuring my students that we WILL be taking stretch breaks.

His class, "Teaching Mathematics to Elementary School Students," was by far and away the most insightful and practical session of my entire teacher credentialing program.   I was honored that Dr. Rowe, although retired, agreed to sit on my committee for my Master's thesis.

Dr. Rowe taught us that there are dozens of different ways to do, teach, mark, and record nearly any math problem.  He cautioned us that if a student consistently gets the correct answer, yet we don't recognize or understand their "shown work," that was an opportunity for us to learn THEIR way, rather than a prompt to MAKE a child do it the "standard" way.  Every time this happened to me, the child got so much from explaining their process that it was a simple thing to teach them "another" way to think about it, and how to show their work in a way that others would understand.

These principles extend far, far beyond the world of elementary school math.   He may have begun by telling us that the TRUE 3 R's were not "Reedin', writtin', and 'rithmatic,  They were, and still are, Reading, Recording, and Reckoning," but he continued by giving us real and valuable tools to help kids find their place in the world.

My heart goes to all the family, I can only imagine the loss you are feeling.  He touched my life, and from his inspiration, I touched the lives of thousands.  I hope that he had plenty of days of sunshine, bocci ball and health.   I was very sad to hear of his passing, and will treasure the memory of him forever.

Clark Hawley (clarkhawley@gmail.com)

Ivan was born in Palmerston North New Zealand . As a  young man he survived the Tangiwhai rail disaster December 23 1953 which resulted in the death of151 passengers. Ivan was a maths lecturer at Ardmore Teachers College in 1963/64 when I first met him and we became life long friends.
Verna and I will miss his often outrageous sense of humour and his irreverent outlook on life.

Well done Ivan for a life lived to the full.


OBITUARY

Ivan H. Rowe

August 18, 1929 – February 10, 2019

Palm La Paz Funerals & Cremations

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