Earl Reum, a magician, motivational speaker and teacher who influenced thousands of students, died of cancer Sunday. He was 79.
A service is planned at 5 p.m. Sunday at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 2626 E. Seventh Avenue Parkway.
“He was crazy, always using humor to get a point across,” said Don Cheley who runs the Cheley Ranch for youth near Estes Park. “He was highly ADD and not taking meds,” said Cheley, laughing.
“He was always on stage, always wearing funky ties, but he could be magical” with his ability to motivate and entertain, said Cheley, who lives in Denver. Reum often spoke at the camp.
Reum was coordinator of student activities for both Denver and Jefferson County schools and gave thousands of speeches here and around the country on motivation, leadership and connecting with other people.
Much of his work was with student councils, and he wrote in his own obituary that he spoke to about 50,000 student leaders every year for more than 50 years.
Denver lawyer Steve Farber said he learned from Reum “how to set a plan, keep your eye on the ball, figure out how to do what you want to do and how to enlist people for support.”
Reum used a variety of tricks and magic to get students’ attention — from a book that burst into flames to putting Mentos into bottles of soda pop, producing an instant fizz — to illustrate how students can “release their enthusiasm. He was a catalyst,” said science teacher and TV personality Steve Spangler of Littleton.
Reum was one of the first people to host a Denver Public Schools program on Channel 6, said Douglas Price, president and chief executive of the public-television station.
“He gave a whole new meaning to education,” said David Von Drehle, of Kansas City, Kan., editor at large for Time magazine. “After you listened to Reum, you’d think you could conquer the world,” Von Drehle said.
Reum was a founding member of the Mile High Magicians Society.
Earl Reum was born in Denver on Feb. 27, 1931.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., a master’s in communication at the University of Denver and his doctorate at DU in education.
He married Mary Ellen Mulcahy on July 4, 1955.
He taught speech and English at Baker and Merrill middle schools for five years and then began working with student councils.
In a short obituary he wrote for himself, Reum asked that friends honor him by joining each other at a restaurant (“with cloth napkins”) and “talk about the great times that you have shared.”
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son, Josef Reum of Washington, D.C.; three daughters, Lyn Neilley of Hollis, N.H., Tracy Koontz of Everett, Pa., and Margaret Curtin of Parker; and seven grandchildren.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
