John Barclay Adams ’58

Barclay died from a stroke Jan. 11, 2009.

He came to us from Deerfield. At Princeton he majored in physics, ate his meals at Cloister Inn, was secretary and president of the Mountaineering Club, played varsity soccer, and roomed his senior year with Bill Bennett.

After graduating as a member of Phi  Beta Kappa, he was granted a Fulbright Scholarship to study philosophy in Germany. According to his brother, Barclay’s Fulbright was cancelled in response to Russia’s launch of Sputnik, and he was drafted to work with Dr. Edward Teller in the Livermore Labora-tories in California, a program that qualified him to earn a Ph.D. in physics at Berkeley.

At age 33, Barclay decided to “leave the abstract world of physics and engage in the world of others.” After Harvard Medical School, Columbia-Presbyterian, and Massachusetts General, he practiced six years at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston before starting his own practice in internal medicine. 

According to his colleagues, Barclay developed a strong interest in having flexible time with his patients to know them and their problems. He was a sensitive, thoughtful, and careful listener.

The class sends its deepest sympathy to Penny, Barclay’s wife of 33 years; their daughter, Rachel; and his brother, Matthew.