John Butterworth ’49

John died July 8, 2015, at Beaumont in Bryn Mawr, his residence for the past 13 years.

A Philadelphia native, his father was a member of the Class of 1916. John attended Germantown Friends, Penn Charter, and South Kent schools, and entered Princeton in 1945. Although his undergraduate career was interrupted by 18 months in the Army from 1946 to 1948, he graduated in 1950 with a history degree. While on campus, John played 150-pound football and was a reporter for The Daily Princetonian. He belonged to Cap and Gown, the pre-law society, and the St. Paul’s Society, and was president of the Student Christian Society.

After graduation, John attended law school at the University of Pennsylvania, earning his degree in 1953. He then began his long legal career in Philadelphia, first with Townsend Elliot & Munson and then with Reed Smith Shaw & McClay. Other than traveling to his summer home in the Adirondacks, John never really left Philadelphia. He was an active participant in various civic activities and had many interests and hobbies.

John married Elsie Whelen Large in 1954. Elsie died in 1977, leaving John and their three children, John Jr., David, and Janet. To John’s children and nine grandchildren, we offer sincere condolences.