Former professor Podoll dies at 71

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A retired associate professor of physical education and sport died Thursday
at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing at age 71.

William Podoll, Jr. was born Dec. 27, 1929 in Albion, Penn. to William and Ann
(Furdiga) Podoll.

Funeral services were held Monday at the First United Methodist Church by co-officiating
Rev. Benton Heisler and Rev. Michelle LaMew. He was buried in Hope Cemetery,
Cranesville, Penn.

After earning his bachelor’s degree from Slippery Rock College and his
master’s from the University of Illinois, Podoll taught at Youngstown University
in Ohio for seven years.

He taught at Central for 25 years, from 1969 to 1995.

During his time at Central:

• He was elected vice president (1975) and president (1981) of the Michigan
  Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation;
• He directed the President’s Council on Physical and Sports Regional
  Physical Fitness and Sports Clinic in 1982, which was one of two such clinics
  in the United States that year;
• In 1989 he was one of eight volunteers nationwide to receive the American
  Heart Association’s “Time, Feeling and Focus Award.” According
  to an American Heart Association spokesperson (1989), the award recognized
  his “countless hours spent bringing the lifesaving CPR program to the
  community, and innovative efforts in making Jump Rope for Heart an overwhelming
  success.”; and
• He was the state chairman of the Joint Committee for Jump Rope for Heart
  in 1989. He also served on the local heart association board for many years.

“He was always student oriented and always wanted to do what was best
for the students,” said Donald Peddie, physical education and sport associate
professor.

“To me he was always pretty serious. He took a lot of pride in instructing
his classes. He was a good example to his students, a very disciplined person.
He put a lot of time into the teaching of his classes,” he said.

“I’ve known him 30 years. My office, for a number of years, was next
to his. When my wife and I first moved to Mount Pleasant he invited us over
to have dinner at his house. He kind of got us oriented to life at CMU. He was
always a gentlemen,” he said.

Walter Schneider, physical education and sport professor emeritus said, “we
both came to CMU in 1969. He was a conscientious and caring instructor who enjoyed
teaching. Teaching was his life. It is what he did.”

“He was also pretty well known throughout the community because he was
quite a gregarious soul. He was a very good talker. He enjoyed talking to people
and being around people. He was the kind of guy that would give you the shirt
off his back. A very caring individual,” Schneider said.

Peddie and Schneider both agree on his love of dance and officiating sporting
events.

“As an instructor and professor, he was always involved with dance, and
when he retired (from Central) he was a dance instructor on cruises. It was
working with people and teaching people, trying to help people out, that was
his personality,” Peddie said.

Podoll taught a class in sports officiating, as well as actually doing it.

“Bill did an awful lot of baseball and basketball officiating, and he did
track meets all over the state,” Schneider said. “We also played golf
and we went to sporting events. He was really good at going to both men’s
and women’s sporting events and was very involved in Central’s community
life.”

“He was always doing something. He officiated so many games he was always
on the go. There was never any grass growing under his feet,” he said.

Unless, of course, his lawn was involved.

“He liked yard work. He took a lot of time doing the yard work meticulously,”
Peddie said. “He took great pride in keeping his lawn and house in tip
top shape.”

His two daughters were his pride and joy, he said.

“(Podoll) talked about them constantly. He always talked about one daughter
or the other. One of the daughters is a veterinarian in Michigan and the other
moved to Arizona, which was hard for him because it was a long way to travel.
Those two were his pride and joy,” Peddie said.

He is survived by his children, Katherine Lynn Dyer (Matt) of Milford, and Ann
Marie Haluska (Paul) of Phoenix, AZ; his grandchildren, Gage David Dyer and
Jordan Marie Haluska; his brother, Edward Podoll (Genny) of Cranesville, PA,
Don Podoll, Ted Podoll (Barbara), and Loddy Podoll (Louise), all of Albion,
PA; and his sisters, Ollie Landi (Frank) and Faith Spaulding, both of Erie,
PA.

William was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Myron Podoll; and
his sister, Judy Nichols.