John M. Doar ’44

John’s death Nov. 11, 2014 — Veterans Day — was promptly announced on national TV newscasts.

John, a Wisconsin Republican, was a civil-rights assistant under presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy and was named civil-rights assistant attorney general under President Lyndon Johnson.

Putting his life at stake in several civil-rights protests, John helped James Meredith matriculate at the segregated University of Mississippi. He prosecuted the Ku Klux Klan, and calmed protesters after the murder of civil-rights leader Medgar Evers. John contributed to drafting the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He also was chief counsel for the investigation of Watergate and drafted the articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon.

Later, President Barack Obama awarded John the Presidential Medal of Freedom, calling him “one of the bravest American lawyers of any era.”

Lincolnesque in style, modest, kind, and soft-spoken, John dedicated his life to service for individuals and his country.

At Princeton he roomed with Don DeCoster, played varsity basketball, majored in politics, was in Tiger Inn, and later became a University trustee. John loved Princeton.

He is survived by his daughter, Gael; sons Michael ’78, Robert ’83, and Burke ’86; 12 grandchildren, including Andrew ’16; and one great-grandson. He was predeceased by his first wife, Anne, with whom he had reconciled; his second wife, Patty, survives him.