John entered Princeton from Shaker High School in Latham, N.Y. He majored in sociology with an emphasis on urban affairs, graduating with highest honors. He roomed with Halpern at Princeton Inn senior year. His closest friends, Halpern and Ruchman, remember his brilliance and his creative explorations of New York City. He later graduated from Columbia Law School.
John was an internationally known and highly respected attorney specializing in maritime law. He successfully argued in several shipping cases of note, winning the case involving the Prestige oil spill off the coast of Spain, and devoting himself for many years to working on the Exxon Valdez oil spill case in Alaska.
John’s talents included gourmet cooking, scuba diving, and computer technology, as well as making home repairs on his family’s residences. He loved animals, especially his dogs. He also loved the ocean and spent much time on the southern coast of Maine.
John married Ellen Haven in 1976. She predeceased him in 2015. The class extends its condolences to his son, Darius Hartwell; his two grandchildren, Delilah and Zeke; and his sisters, Anne and Mary.