John Ely Burchard ’53 *58

John was born in Boston and attended the Belmont Hill School before coming to Princeton. He joined Terrace Club and majored in biology, writing his thesis on “Reversability of Potassium Depletion in Muscle.”

After graduation, he attended the Graduate School, earning a Ph.D. in biology and studying such matters as the motivation of fighting behavior. He then pursued his studies all over the world, including Germany, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria. He also developed an interest in falconry and ice climbing, pursuing the one in Saudi Arabia and the other in the Dolomites in Italy.

John died May 11, 2024, in Porterville, Calif., and is survived by a son and a grandson.