Genasci, Jean, Class of '55

Person

Staff Only

Dates

Existence: 1929 - 2019

Biographical Note

Jean M. B. Genasci was born in 1929 in West Springfield, Massachusetts. She went on to attend Springfield College and earned her Baccalaureate degree in 1955. Jean married her husband, James Genasci, in 1950, and due to his acceptance to work at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado, she earned her Master’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado in 1963. By this time, the couple had their two children, Gail and Gary. After her Master’s, James was offered to teach back at Springfield College, leading to Jean’s employment in the Springfield Public Schools as a librarian. She enjoyed physical education and sports, having traveled nationally and abroad extensively with her husband. Mrs. Genasci co-authored a skiing resource manual with James published in 1967. Jean Genasci passed away December 7, 2019, while traveling in Dubai, United Arab Emirates with her husband, James Genasci.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

James and Jean Genasci Papers

Collection — Box 01-08

Identifier: MS-540

Abstract Dr. James Genasci was born in 1928. He attended Springfield College, receiving his Bachelor of Science in 1950 and a Master of Science in 1955. He got a Doctor of Education from the University of Northern Colorado in 1960. He was an Associate Professor of Physical Education and eventual Assistant Director of the Division of Graduate Studies at Springfield College from 1963 to 1994. Dr. Genasci was also an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, co-founding the Pioneer Valley Chapter of PFLAG, Inc....

Dates: ca. 1940-2000

Found in: Springfield College Archives and Special Collections

Springfield College Thomas F. Waddell Records

Collection — Box 01

Identifier: MS-537

Abstract Dr. Thomas (Flubacher) Waddell (SC Class 1959) was a doctor, a decathlon athlete who participated in the 1968 Olympics, and the founder of the Gay Games (1982). Dr. Waddell was drafted into the army in 1966 as a preventative-medicine officer and paratrooper. Rather than going to the Vietnam War he trained for the Olympics, becoming a US decathlete in the 1968 Olympics where he placed sixth. Dr. Waddell, after joining a gay bowling league, was inspired to organize a gay sporting event modeled...

Dates: 1955-2015