Deceased July 27, 2019
View alumni profile (log in required)
Read obituary
In Memory
John A. “Lex” Cavins passed away July 27, 2019, at age 90 in Indianapolis. Born in Terre Haute, Ind., he prepped at Mercersburg Academy.
At Amherst, Lex joined Phi Delta Theta, majored in biology and chemistry and belonged to the pre-med club and band for all four years. Amherst’s band at that time had a robust 45 members. Lex loved music and played with a group, the Jazz Gents, later in life.
Amherst was followed by a medical degree from Johns Hopkins University and a residency at Ohio State University in hematology/oncology. Between 1970 and 1977, he was an associate professor at Indiana University and after that a full-time physician.
His medical career involved significant research. One project involved establishing the groundwork used in bone marrow transportation with Dr. E. Donnall Thomas for which Dr. Thomas ultimately won the Nobel Prize. Lex also pursued research enabling the military to preserve blood for longer periods than known at the time.
Lex is survived by a sister, Barbara Moore; son Scott Cavins; daughters Dr. Susan Cavins-Stewart and Bonnie Toscano; and four grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife, Myrtle “Skippy” Cavins.
John Priesing ’50