Lawrence G. Derthick Sr.; Former U.S. Commissioner of Education

Lawrence G. Derthick Sr., 85, former U.S. commissioner of education. Derthick, appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, headed the U.S. Office of Education from 1956 until 1961. He had served as superintendent of schools in Nashville and Chattanooga and as president of the American Assn. of School Administrators. After leaving government service, he became associate executive secretary of the National Education Assn. On Thursday in Chattanooga.