If you ever took biology, math, or applied physics at Okmulgee High School between the mid-1980s and the late 2010s, there’s a good chance you crossed paths with Glenn Leist.

Leist spent 37 years teaching in Okmulgee, most of that time at the high school, where he taught biology, math and later applied physics. His work, however, didn’t stop when the final bell rang. He also taught GED and adult education classes, working with students in Henryetta and at the Okmulgee middle school – quietly helping those who needed a different door into education, often after regular school hours.

“I loved biology,” Leist said simply. “Study of life.”

Originally, teaching wasn’t his first plan. He entered college in 1970 intending to become a veterinarian. Life took a different turn.

“I was gonna be a veterinarian,” he said. “Then I became a teacher.”

That turn would ripple outward for decades.

— Hands-On Learning, Long Before It Was a Buzzword Former students may remember Leist not just for lectures, but for hands-on learning, especially in applied physics.

“We used to make race cars,” he recalled. “Made motors. Hands on.”

That same hands-on philosophy showed up beyond Okmulgee classrooms. In Henryetta, Leist brought practical skills into school programs like STAIRs, where students learned leatherworking – cutting, tooling and crafting items such as keychains. It was learning by doing, rooted in real-world skills. He once explained that his interest in leatherwork began when he was young, earning money to buy his first leather kit – skills he later wanted to pass on to students.

Those lessons stuck. “I taught over 20,000 kids,” Leist said. “I can’t remember all of their names of course.”

But many remember him.

— Faith on the Desk, Not Just in Words

Leist’s teaching wasn’t just academic. His faith quietly shaped how he showed up for students.

“I always kept a Gideon Bible on my desk,” he said. “Many times the kids would come by and say, ‘may I read your Bible,’ and I’d say, ‘well go read.’” Years later, during a youth event, a former student found him in the crowd.

“He walked up beside me. He said, ‘You remember me?’” Leist recalled. “I said, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t remember you, son.’ He said, ‘Well, I was in your class… Next year I’ll be a teacher, and I’m going to pattern my life just like you did. There will be a Bible on my desk.’” That student became an English teacher.

“I’ve done something,” Leist said quietly. “I don’t know what, but I’ve done something.”

— Family, Work & Doing What Needed to Be Done Outside the classroom, Leist and his late wife raised five daughters, doing what families often did, working hard and making it work.

“I was working three jobs; nursing home, driving the bus and teaching,” he said. “We put it all together…” Today, those daughters reflect the same ethic of service: One is a retired banker.

One is a school principal in Oklahoma.

One works as a nurse aide.

One runs a home health program.

One is a stay-at-home mom.

Between them all, Leist has 18 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren – a family tree shaped by steadiness and showing up.

— Retirement, Bingo & Still Teaching – Just Differently Leist retired four years ago, but teaching never fully left him.

“Even today, I wake up and say here’s what I need to do. Don’t do that,” he said with a laugh, acknowledging that the instinct to guide never really switches off.

His years of dedication didn’t go unnoticed. Along the way, Leist was formally recognized for 25 years of service, one marker among many in a career defined more by consistency than ceremony.

About a year ago, he moved into Baptist Village, where he says he’s found a good place to land.

“It’s really a good place to stay,” he said. “They’re good to you.”

These days, his favorite activity?

“Play Bingo.” — A Legacy That Didn’t End With a Bell Glenn Leist didn’t just teach subjects. He modeled consistency, faith, work ethic and care – often quietly, without fanfare.

When asked what mattered most, he didn’t talk about awards or test scores. He talked about students coming to him with problems.

“What do I do?” he recalled them asking.

“First thing – go to Christ.”

For Okmulgee, Leist represents a generation of educators who didn’t separate teaching from character – and who understood that the real curriculum often happened outside the lesson plan, in after- hours classrooms, adult education spaces, hands-on projects and everyday conversations.

And even now, years into retirement, his influence is still walking the halls – just in different shoes.