Dr. Thomas Michael Skrtic – Lawrence, Kansas
Dr. Thomas Michael Skrtic, 75, of Lawrence, Kansas, died on Nov. 19, 2021, at the University of Kansas, Medical Center. He was born in McKeesport, on Aug. 10, 1946, and is the son of the late Paul and Caroline D’Annunzio Skrtic. Dr. Skrtic was a distinguished scholar who wrote with rigor and deep intellectual insight into how the problem of institutions, the professions, laws and policy shaped the field of special education and the impact of these on children with disability and their families. He joined the special education faculty of the University of Kansas in 1976. He won numerous honors for his research and teaching and was recently appointed as the Williamson Family Distinguished Professor of Special Education. His scholarship was informed by numerous local, regional and statewide projects he directed over several decades. This work was enriched by many graduate students whom he wholeheartedly respected and mentored. In addition to his parents, Dr. Skrtic was preceded in death by his sister, Catherine Ann Skrtic, who died on Feb. 17, 2020. Services were held in Kansas on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. A gathering will be held at STRIFFLERS OF WHITE OAK CREMATION AND MORTUARY SERVICES, 1100 Lincoln Way, White Oak, PA 15131 (Sue Striffler Galaski, supervisor, 412-678-6177) from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. Burial will follow with prayers. To share a memory or condolence, please visit www.strifflerfuneralhomes.com.
