Director of Admission Radcliffe Heermance *1909 looked kindly at Culver Military Academy, and John was one of the good students from that school he admitted in the fall of 1949.
Born in 1932 in Toledo, Ohio, the son of John S. 1915, he majored in history and belonged to the Republican Club. John dined at Dial and roomed with Jim Fulks, also a Culver graduate, during his upper class years. After he earned his Princeton diploma, John joined the Army and attended Harvard Business School.
John moved to Orlando, Fla., and joined Martin Marietta Corp. Later, an interest in home building prompted his overseeing the construction of hundreds of houses in Central Florida, with his most prized project being his family home. Interested in politics, John met his wife, Susan Boomer, the sister of his campaign manager, driving his run for a state senate seat. Next, he built citrus groves (XRX Groves) into a prosperous business. Still later, he worked as a bank director and manager of family businesses.
John died May 20, 2015, in Orlando, after a stoic fight with cancer. In addition to Susan, he leaves daughters Cynthia F., Helen Leonard, and Christine ’95; two grandsons; and his sister, Cynthia Alice.