Professor Emeritus Frank W. Broadbent Sr. passed on Dec. 18, 2023, in Brunswick, ME, where he had lived with his wife, Peggy, after retirement.
Broadbent was a passionate educator, receiving his undergraduate degree in early childhood education from Northwestern University and his doctorate from Rochester University. He served in the US Navy and during his retirement was Secretary of the Casco Bay Navy League and Maine School Science Volunteers. He was inventor of the mathematics-based game Contig in 1972, along with numerous other math and word games.
Broadbent taught at Drake University and SUNY-Brockport before joining Syracuse University. “Frank taught Math Education in the elementary education program,” remembers Professor Emeritus Gerald Mager. “He was already at Syracuse when I arrived, and he was a good colleague to many, including me. He was a fine teacher, and prospective elementary teachers learned a lot about teaching mathematics from him.”
Mager recalls how his colleague introduced him to computers: “One day, I went into my small office on the first floor of Huntington Hall, and there on my desk sat a bulky computer. Frank had brought it in for me. I said, ‘Frank, I’ll never use it!’ He replied: “Oh, yes you will. You’ll need to know how to use this.’ He was more than right. The machine transformed just about everything we did. I always ribbed Frank about that ‘intrusion’ into my small office, and I thanked him as well.”
Broadbent is survived by his son, Frank William Jr.; his daughter, Susan Broadbent; three grandchildren; and several cousins. He was predeceased by his wife, Peggy.