Paul A. Hulleberg, a former Park School music teacher and youth sports coach, dies – Baltimore Sun

Paul A. Hulleberg, a former Park School music teacher recalled with affection by his students, died of lung cancer Feb. 21 at the University of Maryland Medical Center. He was 65 and lived for many years in Charles Village.

Born on a military base in Japan, he was the son of Roger Paul Hulleberg, a Navy lieutenant, and his wife, Mary Loudenslager, a homemaker. He attended elementary school in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and later lived in New Canaan, Connecticut.

He earned a degree in English and music theory at Hamilton College and taught English at the Dwight-Englewood School in Englewood, New Jersey. He also coached hockey and tennis.

“My father was a man of many talents, especially in music and in endurance sports like running and cycling,” said his son Anders Hulleberg. “He had energy, considerable charm, a kind nature, and a sometimes juvenile sense of humor.”

A mutual friend introduced him to Dawna Cobb, now of Cockeysville, while they were both living in Manhattan. They married in 1985 but later divorced.

“They went in search of a city where they could more easily afford to start a family,” his son said. “They decided on Baltimore in Charles Village and on Abell Avenue and Charles Street facing the Wyman Park Dell.”

Mr. Hulleberg taught fifth grade homeroom at the Gilman School from 1986 to 1989. He then joined the Park School faculty and became a middle school assistant principal and humanities teacher.

His son said Mr. Hulleberg spent 23 years at the Park School. He taught middle school math, language arts and music.

“There is also a lengthy list of unpaid and voluntary roles that he filled beyond his official title,” his son said.

He was an avid runner who completed multiple marathons and dozens of local road races, and participated in numerous Baltimore-area running groups.

He coached the upper school boys cross country team for 18 seasons.

Mr. Hulleberg, a baritone, was a vocalist who sang with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society from 2002 to 2010.

He led the middle school chorus at Park and founded the Vocal Chords, the upper school male a cappella group.

In 2001, Mr. Hulleberg took his middle schoolers to a competition at Hersheypark, where they sang one of his original compositions, a setting to music of Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” The group was awarded a first-place prize.

His son described his father as an enthusiastic guitarist who started playing the instrument after watching the Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” He played in the pit orchestra of upper school musical productions and performed with student bands at school concerts.

He spent his weekends working with youth. He was a volunteer rec league coach in Charles Village and a little league coach in Roland Park.

“I always felt like he treated me with the respect of a musical peer, rather than as a student,” said Anand Wilder, a former Vocal Chord who lives in Brooklyn, New York. “He set an example for how to be an adult who didn’t need to always act like an adult. If you worked at something with discipline, you could curse around Paul, and crack dirty jokes and he would join right in. His big bass laugh filled up the music room.”

Mr. Wilder said: “He was a child of the 1970s, a rocker and a guitar player. He was a guy who lifted you and boosted your confidence.”

His son said his father fulfilled an intention to work with more students who did not come from privilege. After leaving Park, he took a job as a music and reading teacher at Roots and Branches Charter School in West Baltimore. He retired in 2016.

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He also began volunteer coaching, three days per week at 5:30 a.m., with a chapter of Back on My Feet, a nonprofit that engages homeless men and women in distance running.

“He quickly became a favorite on Team CP, named for its members’ affiliation with Christopher Place Employment Academy,” his son said.

Mr. Hulleberg later lived in The Carrollton, a condominium at Greenway and University Parkway in North Baltimore.

“I think he kept seven or eight bicycles in the garage,” said Keven Cleary, a fellow resident. “Paul was a man of varied interests. He convened a ukulele circle on our front lawn. It was delightful.”

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Mr. Hulleberg met Laura Bristow in 2015. They eventually started dating and married in July 2021.

Survivors include his wife, the director of Action in Maturity; two sons, Anders Hulleberg of Newton, Massachusetts, and Lucas Hulleberg of Brooklyn, New York; his wife’s daughter, Cassandra Bristow of Brooklyn, New York; his parents, Roger Paul and Mary Hulleberg of Baltimore; a sister, Beth Olinger of Baltimore; two brothers, John Hulleberg of Baltimore and Tom Hulleberg of East Burke, Vermont; and a granddaughter.

A memorial service is private.