John Baird Jr. ’40

Jack died June 8, 2016, in his sleep at Beaumont in Bryn Mawr, Pa. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and raised in a variety of cities, he came to us from the Lawrenceville School. At Princeton, he majored in English, was on the Nassau Lit staff, and was a member of Theatre Intime and Gateway Club. His senior-year roommate was Donald Woodford.

He began his career working in a family business until its founder died, after which its property and buildings became Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, then Eastern College, and now Eastern University, near Philadelphia. Jack served the institution until retirement, initially as treasurer and then as chief fundraising officer, for 50 years.

A skilled historian as well, he published 10 works of nonfiction over the years, including a biography of Union Army Gen. Absolom Baird, a Medal of Honor winner. Jack also served a wide variety of civic and charitable organizations, including Shipley School, the Boy Scouts, Ludington Library, the Pennsylvania Lupus Foundation, the Society of Colonial Wars, and others.

Jack’s two wives predeceased him. He is survived by two daughters from his first marriage, three grandsons, and six great-grandchildren.