After 29 years of service to the Tyrone Area School District, seventh grade physical science teacher David Loth has chosen to retire at the end of this school year.

“What I will miss the most are good students and other teachers,” said Loth. “I have fun joking with some of my coworkers. I will miss this camaraderie.”

David Loth was born in 1954 in Fort Lee, Virgina.  His dad was in the army, so he and his family moved around in his childhood. He graduated from Eisenhower High School in Lawton, Oklahoma in 1972.

After high school he attended and graduated from Saint Francis College, currently known as Saint Francis University. His degree was in math and general science education for middle to high school.

However, instead of taking a teaching job he worked for the Hoss’s restaurant chain as a district manager for 10 years. Loth trained food service workers, and discovered that he enjoyed the “teaching” aspect of the job.

“I did not like the long hours and constant travel [at Hoss’s], so I looked for a career change.  I found an opening in Tyrone.  I loved working with young students, so I continued this career for 29 years,” said Loth.

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What I will miss the most are good students and other teachers. I have fun joking with some of my coworkers. I will miss this camaraderie

— David Loth

Loth began working for Tyrone in January 1987.

“It was very awkward my first year.  I was the third teacher those students had that year.  I also had been training food service workers for 10 years, so I had to adjust and learn new techniques to teacher younger learners,” said Loth.

In his retirement, Loth plans  to spend more time with his two children and three grandchildren.

His son is an actuary who lives outside of Philadelphia, and his daughter lives in Johnstown and teaches at UPJ. 

Loth currently lives in Hollidaysburg, where his wife was born and raised. His in-laws are his next door neighbors.

“I don’t have one favorite memory [of working at Tyrone] but I have a lot of good ones. I enjoyed the time when [former math teacher] Rich Ward and I got a grant through GTE and we went on summer tours of several facilities. I got to learn a lot about space, satellites, and fiber optic plants. Fiber optic plants were a huge deal back then. Also, I watched as Google Maps was being planned. That’s how long ago it was,” said Loth.

Seventh grade English teacher Susan Orlosky will miss working with Loth for many reasons ranging from “his dry sense of humor” to his “great attitude” and  ability to be a “team player.”

“I remember once as we were leaving the building at the end of the day, he was holding the door for us and said ‘You know you need to retire when in the morning you hold the door open, but by the afternoon, the door’s holding you up,’” said Orlosky.

“He is a great idea person, and he’s level-headed. I’ll miss our conversations about how we plan for the day. I think of him as a professional teacher that engages his students in hands-on activities when learning. He’s always positive even in bad situations. He will be missed,” said Orlosky.

Seventh grade teacher Carey Dunn has only known Loth for a couple of years, but she really enjoys Loth’s sense of humor and his ability to find humor in any situation.

“I will miss Mr. Loth’s laugh the most.  His laugh isn’t what you expect it would be.  I always tell our new 7th grade students to try to make Mr. Loth laugh in class. I hope Mr. Loth has an amazing retirement and enjoys time with his family, especially his grandchildren,” said Dunn.

Middle school principal Kristen Pinter will miss Loth’s enthusiasm and awesome dance moves.

“He is a funny and kind person who absolutely lights up when he talks about his grandchildren. My favorite memory is dancing with him at a 7th & 8th grade social.  He was a great dancer!” said Pinter.

Middle school dean of students Lyndsay Miksich used to teach her class right across the hall from Loth when she was a teacher.

“When I first moved to the district, Mr. Loth was so kind and helpful and supported me while I got acclimated to the middle school. I will miss his festive ties, science shirts, and the smile he had every morning while we patrolled the hallways and greeted kids. I remember Mr. Loth playing funny characters for the SOAR assemblies.  One year, he was a zombie during the staff’s version of Thriller by Michael Jackson.  Another year, he taped glow sticks to himself and danced on stage with the rest of his 7th grade team,” said Miksich. 

Teachers are not the only ones who will miss Mr. Loth after his retirement. Many past and current students of his are looking back on the great memories they had with him in class.

“He always says in order to leave the classroom, we all need to be sitting. Then he calls us winners,” said eighth graders Brianna Decker and Abbi Williams.

A popular lesson taught in Mr. Loth’s class is the “Fission vs. Fusion” lesson. According to ninth graders Taylor Rhodes, Anna Beck, Tiffannie Hall, and senior Skylar Rudasill, that is their favorite lesson because Loth made it the funniest with his famous karate moves.

“He ‘fission’ karate chopped the smartboard, and actually broke it!” said senior Sarah Isenberg.

Eighth grader Alexis Umholtz will remember Loth doing the “whip and nae nae.” Sophomore Natashia Zimmerman will always know Mr. Loth by his nickname she gave him, “Lothanator 3000.”

“He always asked me about the newest video games coming out in the year, and who can forget about the iconic fist bump he gives his students?” said sophomore Jarron Bower.

2015 graduate Amber Chamberlin remembers the entire class singing the opening to the Bill Nye videos shown in class, including Mr. Loth himself.

Another 2015 graduate, Courtney Kurtz, misses his class looking back on it now. “Ironically, I hated science back then – I’m a chemistry major in college [now]. His class is actually where I met one of my really good friends, Grace McKernan,” said Kurtz.

“Mr. Loth is by far one of Tyrone’s best teachers! I’ll never forget how motivated he was towards getting his students into his lessons. He’s always smiling and willing to help anybody around him,” said sophomore Michelann Stroup.