John Bell Christensen ’44

JOHN DIED July 30,1993, in Honolulu. Princeton, corporate law, and the nation have lost an admirable and valuable man. John prepared at Pingry, where he excelled in both the written and spoken word. At Princeton, he majored in politics and furthered his prowess as a speaker. His undergraduate prizes and plaudits are numerous (see the 1944 NASSAU HERALD). He joined the army in 1943, attending the Japanese language school and ultimately joining Gen. MacArthur's staff in Japan. He returned to Princeton for his A.B. in 1947 and then went to Yale Law. He married Barbara Starkweather in 1949 and earned his LL.D. in 1950. After passing the New York bar, he began to practice corporate law on Wall Street. In 1952, he went to Tokyo, where he worked for McIvor, Kauffman and Yamamoto for three years, before joining Reid & Priest in NYC for five years. The family returned to Tokyo and an enduring 30year involvement with the McIvor firm. John became a partner in 1962. He was named managing partner when the firm became Aoki, Christensen and Nomoto. John was one of the few Americans admitted to the Japan Bar. He was fluent in Japanese and a highly respected American presence in Japan. He retired in 1986, moved to Honolulu, and began a happy, active, international speaking life that took him to the U.K., U.S., and Asia. He loved talking to people and sharing his knowledge of Japanese business and law. From across the globe he remained a faithful, informative correspondent with '44 throughout these 50 years. To his widow, Barbara; his daughter, Holly; his brother, Bob '50; and a legion of friends around the world go our deep sorrow and sympathy.

The Class of 1944