In Memoriam
David G. Toll, 82, of Auburn, New Hampshire and Southport, Maine, died at home on Sunday, December 6, 2009. Mr. Toll was born in Passaic, New Jersey on April 21, 1927, son of the late Karel and Ruth (Greenlie) Toll. He retired after 25 years teaching advanced high school mathematics in Rutherford, New Jersey.
In addition to doing math, Mr. Toll loved playing mini golf at Dolphin Mini Golf in Boothbay, Maine, where he set the course record of 29.
Mr. Toll leaves his daughter, Ellen Purcell, son-in-law Robert Purcell, and his grandchildren Danielle Parisi, Amanda Purcell, and Ryan Purcell, all of Auburn, New Hampshire. Mr. Toll also leaves his siblings, Karel Toll of New Castle, Delaware, Barbara Stille of West Caldwell, New Jersey, and Jean Toll of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
All services are private at the request of the family and the Peabody Funeral Homes & Crematorium of Derry, New Hampshire is handling the arrangements for the family. Donations in memory of Mr. Toll may be directed to either the Southport Maine Fire Department at 437 Hendricks Hill Road, Southport, Maine 04576 or the Auburn New Hampshire Fire and EMT, 6 Pingree Hill Road, Auburn, New Hampshire 03032.
Joseph L. Nackson
A wonderful teacher who managed to keep his students fully engaged in what is not always an otherwise fascinating subject. I have often thought about him fondly.
Donna Droste (Jobson-Smeak)
Mr Toll was a wonderful teacher. He was the one person who
inspired me to follow in his footsteps and branch out to teaching mathematics.
If I could be just a little like him, I would always feel successful.
Jim McLaughlin
Great memories from his classes. Have used his "Nail it down with Trial and Error" process over and over through the years. Great school spirit as well as great educator. Inspired me to dream of making the JV Math Team...believe that mythical unit would have also included Joe Nackson.
Gary P. Novosielski
Mr. Toll was the best teacher I had during my high school years. His instruction in probability, trigonometry and solid geometry gave me a great foundation. In fact in grad school I was the "curve breaker" in probability class.It was Mr. Toll's gift for giving a real "feel" for the material that made this possible.
I've had several carreers over the years, ending with a 13-year stint as a high school physics teacher. My model for what a great teacher would do was David Toll. If I did half as well, I'd consider that a success.
His memory lives.
Leslie Colin
Absolutely the best teacher in high school, and there were many good ones. Trig and probability were not the most popular subjects, but they could have been under Mr Toll. He was patient, clear, and interesting in perfect balance. You just can't do it any better than that.