John H. Thatcher Jr. ’53

Born in Brooklyn but raised in New Jersey, John attended the Englewood School before coming to Princeton, where he majored in history and was a member of Charter Club. He served on the Undergraduate Schools Committee and the Scholarship Committee of the Orange Key Society.

Struggles with what was eventually diagnosed as celiac disease shaped John’s first years after college, which led to a career as an investment counselor. His very active involvement with the Alumni Schools Committee led to his interviewing more than a thousand potential Princetonians.

Childhood summers on Fishers Island in New York led to an increasing concern for the environment and the founding of the Fishers Island Conservancy. John was a tireless advocate for conservation of the island’s clean water and ecosystems. He is remembered especially for working with the “mosquito girls” to lessen the island’s mosquito population through nontoxic control measures. Unfortunately, John had a stroke 12 years ago while fishing that brought an end to his Fishers Island activities.

He died Aug. 14, 2017, at home in Hillsborough, N.J. John is survived by his wife, Mary; their daughters, Marisa and Monica; nine grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.