Marc Helgesen, who followed Richard Day as the 2nd Chair of the ERF, passed away on 11 March 2025 after a protracted illness while hospitalized in Sendai. While the ERF remembers Marc’s leadership, his perspectives on Extensive Reading, his Language Learner Literature Award initiative and his stimulating talks, Marc has touched many others in various roles. Others remember him for his role in founding the Sendai Chapter of JALT, for his long-running series of texts in the “English Firsthand” series, his work on “The Science of Happiness” in education, his activity with the JALT “Brain SIG” and as barbeque chef for the Sendai teaching community.
Marc has always been concerned with education, having studied “Child Development” in high school and majoring in elementary ed/early childhood in college. At Southern Illinois University, he taught Adult Basic Education in a maximum security prison and taught ESL to Hispanics. He then moved on to Japan, and the rest is history. During his tenure at Miyagi Gakuin University, he published over 200 academic papers, books, and textbooks, while giving frequent talks both in Japan and abroad. He will be remembered!
