Obituary for William F. Bearse Published in Morning Call on April 8,
2012 William F. Bearse,
68, of Bethlehem passed away Friday, April 6, 2012 at St. Lukes Hospital in
Fountain Hill, PA. He was born on January 31, 1944 in Decatur, GA, son of
the late Irving and Dorothy (Bearse) Bearse. He was the husband of Karen
(Glagola) Bearse, and they celebrated 25 years of marriage on August 1st of
this past year. Bill served as Athletic Director at Northampton Community
College for 35 years and was a key figure in the development of athletics
at Northampton. He doubled the number of varsity teams from 6 to 12,
amassing 28 State titles and 68 conference tournament wins. In addition, he
was Director of Physical Education, Director of Sport Management, golf
coach, bowling coach, and baseball coach, winning Coach of the Year Awards
in golf four times and bowling once. He was one of the first inductees into
the NCC Athletic Hall of Fame. Bill was one of the founding fathers of the
Pennsylvania Collegiate Athletic Association (PCAA) and commissioner of
that organization numerous times, and served as President of the Eastern
Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference (EPCC) 15 of the 30 years NCC had been a
member. Bill graduated with a B.S. degree in Physical Education from
Florida State University, and received his M.A. degree in Physical
Education and a six-year education specialist degree (Ed.S.) from Eastern
Kentucky University. He will be lovingly remembered by his wife, Karen;
sons, William R. Bearse, and Kevin W. Bearse both at home; sisters, Jane
Everett of Livermore, CA, and Nancy Vanderlan of Clinton, TN.
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