John Frederick Carspecken ’36

Fred died Apr. 26, 2003, at his home in Laguna Beach, Calif. He was salutatorian of his class at Mercersburg Academy. At Princeton he majored in the classics and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1950 he received a PhD in classical philology from Harvard.

From 1939-41 he taught English and Latin at Mercersburg. During WWII, he served almost five years, rising in rank from private to major in the infantry and then in the Air Force. After the war, Fred taught in the English department at Yale from 1946-49 and in the classics department from 1949-52.

A devoted son, he took care of his aged parents in Morgantown, W.Va. from 1953-75. While there he was an enthusiastic member of the Rotary Club and wrote its 50-year history (1918-68). In the early 1970s, he published some sonnets and short stories, and introduced a piano recital on the local PBS station. He also served as a director of the First National Bank, now known as Huntington Bank, which his father founded in Morgantown.

Fred retired to Laguna Beach in 1977. He leaves no survivors.

The Class of 1936