M. Albert Linton Jr., 94, teacher and coach
Obituary from The Philadelphia Inquirer
Nov. 2, 2009
 M.
Albert Linton Jr. taught math at William Penn Charter School from 1946 to
1992.
But sports fans of private schools in the Philadelphia region might remember
him better as a golfer.
From 1946 to 1996, Mr. Linton coached Penn Charter golf teams, which won the
championship of the Inter-Academic League 21 times, said a daughter, Carol
Finer.
The annual Penn Charter alumni golf tournament is named for him.
On Oct. 10, Mr. Linton, 94, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease
at Chandler Hall, a Quaker retirement community in Newtown Township, Bucks
County.
Mr. Linton distinguished himself beyond the links, too.
He was among educators across the nation who, working as the School
Mathematics Study Group, developed and implemented the curriculum known as
the New Math between 1958 and 1977.
Born in Moorestown, Mr. Linton was a 1933 graduate of Moorestown Friends
School. He earned his bachelor's in chemistry from Haverford College in 1937
and his master's in teaching from Harvard University in 1947.
During World War II, his daughter said, he was a conscientious objector who
worked as a chemist in a laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital in
Boston.
 Mr. Linton began teaching math at Penn Charter in 1946, covering courses
from algebra to advanced-placement calculus, and was chairman of the math
department from 1956 to 1992, when he retired.
His golf coaching continued for four more years.
In 1956, the General Electric Co. awarded him a fellowship for advanced
study.
In 1966, Haverford College named him to its Phi Beta Kappa rolls, his
daughter said, for "his significant contributions to mathematics education."
In 1969, the Penn Charter Alumni Society gave him its first Distinguished
Teaching Award.
In 1971, the Philadelphia chapter of the Society of Professional Engineers
named him math teacher of the year.
Mr. Linton was chairman of the board of overseers at Friends Select School,
a member of the board of directors at the Eagles Mere Country Club in
Sullivan County, and a member of the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
 A cross-country and downhill skier into his 80s, he had climbed the Jungfrau
mountain in Switzerland with his father and later hiked other mountains in
the Alps and in Colorado and Vermont.
With the Divotee Golf Club, which his daughter described as "an organization
of golfers from all over who met to play at various country clubs," he was
treasurer from 1946 to 1952, president from 1958 to 1960, and statistician
from 1978 to 1997.
Besides his daughter Carol, Mr. Linton is survived by his wife of 67 years,
Joan, son Peter, daughter Betsy Lingenheld, and four grandchildren.
A memorial is planned for 9:30 a.m. May 1 at William Penn Charter School,
the day after the 118th Alumni Banquet, and nine days before the 23d annual
Bert Linton Golf Outing on May 10. |
