Family still coping with tragedy
Three years later, family still coping with superintendent's sudden death
By Bret Hayworth Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, August 08, 2008
Pictured in their Woodbine, Iowa, home are Ali Glackin, 8, Lynne Glackin, Jodi Glackin, 18, and Patrick Glackin, 13. Ali holds a photo of her father, Mark Glackin, who was killed in a motorcycle collision three summers ago. (Photo by Bret Hayworth)
WOODBINE, Iowa -- Mark and Lynne Glackin made many stops in Northwest Iowa, their busy lives as educators made fuller still by their own three children.
Both graduated from Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn High School in Cherokee County, then from the University of Northern Iowa in the mid-1990s. They spent a year teaching in Minnesota before returning to their home state to take teaching, coaching and principal positions in Rockwell City-Lytton, Charter Oak-Ute, Denison, Sac City and Woodbine.
The next stop was to be Armstrong-Ringsted, where, on July 1, 2005, Mark fulfilled his wish to become a school superintendent.
Mark made several trips from Woodbine up to Armstrong-Ringsted to handle administrative duties, while Woodbine prekindergarten teacher Lynne submitted her resignation and spent the summer boxing up belongings.
"I had the house halfway packed. I had the basement completely packed and was working on the kids' rooms upstairs," she said last week from her Woodbine home. "I knew we were moving."
But plans changed in one dreadful moment on July 14, 2005.
Making the 180-mile trip back to Woodbine from Armstrong-Ringsted, Mark died when his motorcycle was struck by a semitrailer that turned into his lane on Iowa Highway 175 between Lake View and Odebolt.
The truck driver reportedly didn't see the motorcycle.
Although he was wearing a helmet, Mark was pronounced dead at the scene.
Not the farewell they'd planned
Mark had gotten the 2001 Honda Goldwing motorcycle in Spencer just five days earlier.
The night before he left to return to Armstrong-Ringsted to deal with hiring a new transportation director, daughter Jodi, who had finished her freshman year, had a going away party with Woodbine friends. She wasn't totally sold on leaving her friends behind.
Normally, Mark would have taken the family's pickup, but a tire on their van was low and he chose the motorcycle so Lynne could use the truck. He'd planned to return that night because the family was to attend a farewell meal at the home of the high school band teacher.
"It wasn't very often that he went up and came back the same day," Lynne said.
Mark called Lynne later that morning from Emmett County to say he had found a house to rent until they sold their home in Woodbine.
He called Lynne on the way home, telling her how beautiful the summer day was and that he'd be home in time for their night out.
And as Lynne waited with great trepidation about his delay, a real estate broker called to advise there was a fine house for them to consider buying.
Then the sheriff pulled into the family's lane. Lynne said she immediately knew her worst fears were realized.
"The house just kind of exploded. Lots of people came," she said.
'My best friend, my support'
Three years later, graduating from Woodbine High School in May wasn't what it should have been, Jodi said in a conversation with her family in the living room.
"Graduation sucked. Dad was supposed to hand me my diploma," she said.
Lynne has now taught 4- and 5-year-olds at Woodbine for six years, twice as long as she'd expected. The Woodbine School Board hadn't acted on her resignation, so she pulled it back. Some advised her to move closer to the Marcus area, where the kids had three grandparents, including Mark's mother, Alice Glackin. It's also where Mark is buried.
"I knew this was where we had to stay," Lynne said. She didn't want to uproot her family as they coped with their loss.
Lynne focused much of her energy on earning a master's degree and is now licensed to be a K-12 principal. Ideally, she said, she would find such a position in Woodbine.
She said raising Jodi, 18, who is about to leave for her freshman year at Iowa State University, Patrick, 13, and Ali, 8, hasn't been easy without her husband.
"I miss my companion, my best friend, my support. He was the one to say, 'Yes, you can, because I believe in you,'" Lynne said.
Patrick said many of his classmates, in that first year after his father died, would ask how it happened. He didn't mind talking about it. And as he's learned about spinal cord injuries from bad accidents, he's glad his father didn't live to suffer.
Jodi said some friends found the topic awkward, and that was tough.
Each night, Lynne asks the kids at bedtime what happened in the day that made them think of their father. After the collision, she'd quickly decided the family would openly talk about Mark.
"I wanted to make sure my kids wouldn't forget him," Lynne said.
"That's not a possibility," Ali said firmly.
A kick in the 'gut'
On July 14, 2005, Armstrong-Ringsted secretary Deb Obbink left the school with Mark Glackin about 3 p.m., followed him south out of Armstrong, then turned toward home. She knew how proud he was of the motorcycle.
"He was so excited. It was a beautiful bike," she said.
When Obbink heard about the accident that same evening, she said she was "overwhelmed -- it felt like someone kicked me in the gut." Several Armstrong-Ringsted school employees attended the July 18 funeral, including some who had never met Glackin.
"We thought we had found the perfect person" for the superintendent's job, Obbink said.
The Glackins have returned to the collision site just outside Odebolt a few times each year. They put up roadside memorials, only to learn they disappear.
"We've had absolutely no contact with the truck driver, and that has been very hard on all of us," Lynne said.
The kids fondly recalled a lot of school-related memories with their father. Young Ali was often with him as he watched over the crowd at Woodbine basketball games and Patrick remembered pizza parties held after school on the floor of his principal office. Jodi related how the first -- and only -- detention she ever got came from her dad.
Lynne said Mark had always impressed her with his vitality as he moved from teaching and coaching into administration while tending to home duties as well.
"Mark just always continued to learn. He probably wouldn't have stopped at superintendency," Lynne said. She said he might have gone to work for the Iowa Department of Education or pursued politics as a "strong Democrat."
What position would he have sought, maybe county supervisor or state legislator?
Jodi quickly answered, "President." No doubt in her mind.
"Maybe the speechwriter for the president," Lynne added.
Bret Hayworth may be reached at (712) 293.4203 or brethayworth@siouxcityjournal.com
Both graduated from Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn High School in Cherokee County, then from the University of Northern Iowa in the mid-1990s. They spent a year teaching in Minnesota before returning to their home state to take teaching, coaching and principal positions in Rockwell City-Lytton, Charter Oak-Ute, Denison, Sac City and Woodbine.
The next stop was to be Armstrong-Ringsted, where, on July 1, 2005, Mark fulfilled his wish to become a school superintendent.
Mark made several trips from Woodbine up to Armstrong-Ringsted to handle administrative duties, while Woodbine prekindergarten teacher Lynne submitted her resignation and spent the summer boxing up belongings.
"I had the house halfway packed. I had the basement completely packed and was working on the kids' rooms upstairs," she said last week from her Woodbine home. "I knew we were moving."
But plans changed in one dreadful moment on July 14, 2005.
Making the 180-mile trip back to Woodbine from Armstrong-Ringsted, Mark died when his motorcycle was struck by a semitrailer that turned into his lane on Iowa Highway 175 between Lake View and Odebolt.
The truck driver reportedly didn't see the motorcycle.
Although he was wearing a helmet, Mark was pronounced dead at the scene.
Not the farewell they'd planned
Mark had gotten the 2001 Honda Goldwing motorcycle in Spencer just five days earlier.
The night before he left to return to Armstrong-Ringsted to deal with hiring a new transportation director, daughter Jodi, who had finished her freshman year, had a going away party with Woodbine friends. She wasn't totally sold on leaving her friends behind.
Normally, Mark would have taken the family's pickup, but a tire on their van was low and he chose the motorcycle so Lynne could use the truck. He'd planned to return that night because the family was to attend a farewell meal at the home of the high school band teacher.
"It wasn't very often that he went up and came back the same day," Lynne said.
Mark called Lynne later that morning from Emmett County to say he had found a house to rent until they sold their home in Woodbine.
He called Lynne on the way home, telling her how beautiful the summer day was and that he'd be home in time for their night out.
And as Lynne waited with great trepidation about his delay, a real estate broker called to advise there was a fine house for them to consider buying.
Then the sheriff pulled into the family's lane. Lynne said she immediately knew her worst fears were realized.
"The house just kind of exploded. Lots of people came," she said.
'My best friend, my support'
Three years later, graduating from Woodbine High School in May wasn't what it should have been, Jodi said in a conversation with her family in the living room.
"Graduation sucked. Dad was supposed to hand me my diploma," she said.
Lynne has now taught 4- and 5-year-olds at Woodbine for six years, twice as long as she'd expected. The Woodbine School Board hadn't acted on her resignation, so she pulled it back. Some advised her to move closer to the Marcus area, where the kids had three grandparents, including Mark's mother, Alice Glackin. It's also where Mark is buried.
"I knew this was where we had to stay," Lynne said. She didn't want to uproot her family as they coped with their loss.
Lynne focused much of her energy on earning a master's degree and is now licensed to be a K-12 principal. Ideally, she said, she would find such a position in Woodbine.
She said raising Jodi, 18, who is about to leave for her freshman year at Iowa State University, Patrick, 13, and Ali, 8, hasn't been easy without her husband.
"I miss my companion, my best friend, my support. He was the one to say, 'Yes, you can, because I believe in you,'" Lynne said.
Patrick said many of his classmates, in that first year after his father died, would ask how it happened. He didn't mind talking about it. And as he's learned about spinal cord injuries from bad accidents, he's glad his father didn't live to suffer.
Jodi said some friends found the topic awkward, and that was tough.
Each night, Lynne asks the kids at bedtime what happened in the day that made them think of their father. After the collision, she'd quickly decided the family would openly talk about Mark.
"I wanted to make sure my kids wouldn't forget him," Lynne said.
"That's not a possibility," Ali said firmly.
A kick in the 'gut'
On July 14, 2005, Armstrong-Ringsted secretary Deb Obbink left the school with Mark Glackin about 3 p.m., followed him south out of Armstrong, then turned toward home. She knew how proud he was of the motorcycle.
"He was so excited. It was a beautiful bike," she said.
When Obbink heard about the accident that same evening, she said she was "overwhelmed -- it felt like someone kicked me in the gut." Several Armstrong-Ringsted school employees attended the July 18 funeral, including some who had never met Glackin.
"We thought we had found the perfect person" for the superintendent's job, Obbink said.
The Glackins have returned to the collision site just outside Odebolt a few times each year. They put up roadside memorials, only to learn they disappear.
"We've had absolutely no contact with the truck driver, and that has been very hard on all of us," Lynne said.
The kids fondly recalled a lot of school-related memories with their father. Young Ali was often with him as he watched over the crowd at Woodbine basketball games and Patrick remembered pizza parties held after school on the floor of his principal office. Jodi related how the first -- and only -- detention she ever got came from her dad.
Lynne said Mark had always impressed her with his vitality as he moved from teaching and coaching into administration while tending to home duties as well.
"Mark just always continued to learn. He probably wouldn't have stopped at superintendency," Lynne said. She said he might have gone to work for the Iowa Department of Education or pursued politics as a "strong Democrat."
What position would he have sought, maybe county supervisor or state legislator?
Jodi quickly answered, "President." No doubt in her mind.
"Maybe the speechwriter for the president," Lynne added.
Bret Hayworth may be reached at (712) 293.4203 or brethayworth@siouxcityjournal.com
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