Deceased March 19, 2022
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In Memory
John has been one of Amherst’s most enthusiastic supporters; he has also been among its most disenchanted. These opposites coexisted and were not resolved.
Our 25th reunion gift broke all records, with John playing a decisive role in raising and personally contributing a significant share. Classmates will remember President Julian Gibb arriving at our class dinner in Holyoke with an armored truck safely bringing the long-sequestered Sabrina out of hiding to honor us as “The First Sabrina Class.”
John valued his Amherst friendships—including one president and one professor in particular—and attended alumni association meetings and reunions. He was a regular contributor of news to class notes, sometimes expressing mounting concern about whether the Amherst faculty’s political views were imbalanced, mostly reporting happy encounters with various classmates, and once relating that two granddaughters passed over by Amherst were thriving at Williams and Harvard.
John met his first wife at Mamaroneck High School, where he played football and where Joanne was voted one of the most popular in her class. After Amherst, John served two years in the Army Finance Corps, obtained an MBA at NYU, started his career at Merrill Lynch and rose to senior partner and executive committee member of Oppenheimer & Co.
John and Joanne chose early retirement to follow their dream of venturing west to Sedona, Ariz., while still young. They became a championship doubles tennis team, with USTA ranking, and avid golfers. Their collection of Southwestern painting, sculpture and pottery was noteworthy.
Widowed in 1993, John married Katherine Hoffman, a family friend of long standing. John and Kathy relocated to Vero Beach, Fla., and Cashiers, N.C. John died at home on March 19. His family includes three great-grandchildren.
Nick Evans ’52