John G. Carlton, longtime journalism and English teacher at Catalina High School and mentor to hundreds of students, died in hospice on Thursday after falling the week before. He was 79.
Under his 29-year tenure as adviser for the school’s newspaper, The Trumpeteer, the student-run weekly became the all-time national award-winner of scholastic journalism by the time he retired in 1989.
In fact, the “Trump” brought home honors every year since he arrived at Catalina in 1960.
Carlton himself received a number of teaching awards, including outstanding journalism teacher from the Arizona Press Association and a Gold Key national award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
But he was much more than a teacher to his students, as he continued to meet with many of them for years after they graduated. He once said he couldn’t afford to have a family of his own because of a lack of time.
“He felt like they were all his children,” said his wife of 56 years, Muriel Carlton. “Many of his students kept in touch with him over the years.”
As a freshman at Catalina, Gawain Douglas found a mentor in Carlton.
Douglas couldn’t get into a journalism class until he was a sophomore, but found himself inspired by the student journalists he met while in the freshman English class Carlton taught.
Not your typical teacher, Carlton was fun and irreverent, a prankster who pushed his students on the Trump to challenge their sources, even the school administration, Douglas said.
“He inspired dozens, potentially hundreds of people toward journalism,” he said.
It was true for Douglas, who worked at The Arizona Daily Star and Tucson Citizen after getting his journalism degree from the University of Arizona.
After Carlton’s retirement, former students would often spend a portion of their Sunday morning having brunch with their former mentor, Douglas said.
Carlton taught crossword builder Merl Reagle, screenwriters Aaron Latham and Allison Hock and ex-University of Arizona journalism head Jacqueline Sharkey.
“He was a giant among men,” said former student Abe Kwok, an Arizona Republic editor who kept in touch with Carlton. “He had a way of disarming and inspiring and challenging you all at the same time.”
Carlton had a daily ritual of doing the crossword puzzle, always in pen and always contiguously.
“There was always a small group of us that hovered around the desk,” Kwok said. “It became a daily habit for many of us who to this day still do it in this manner.”
Carlton did whatever it took to get the best out of each of his students, always finding a way to connect.
“At the end of the day, he made you feel like a peer,” Kwok said.
After graduating from UA and working for the Tucson Citizen, Kwok made his way to the Republic, but continued to correspond with Carlton after the move, writing letters back and forth.
Kwok said he always looked forward to seeing Carlton’s iconic writing style — all capital letters in block print — and reading the words of wisdom he still had to offer to his students decades after they graduated.
“John always wanted to teach,” Muriel Carlton said. “He felt that’s where his heart was.”
Raised in Iowa, Carlton met his wife at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where he earned a master’s degree in Journalism. After working at a Dubuque, Iowa, paper and freelancing briefly, Carlton began teaching and never looked back.
In the 25 years since he retired, Carlton enjoyed reading and gardening. He and his wife traveled over the years, taking what she described as “too many favorite trips to remember them all.”
Family and friends are planning a celebration of life, but a date hasn’t been set yet.
Cards and messages can be sent to: P.O Box 133, Sahuarita, AZ 85629.
