John McKenzie Gunn *54

John died Oct. 16, 2021, in Lexington, Va., at the age of 97. 

John was born Jan. 16, 1924, in Pensacola, Fla. He began college at Washington & Lee in September 1941, but left to serve in the Army’s 84th Infantry Division’s Medical Corps. 

After earning a degree in physics in 1949 from Georgia Tech, John decided his real passion was economics. He attended the University of North Carolina, then earned an A.M. in economics from Princeton in 1954.

John’s first academic job was at Florida State University. He returned to Washington & Lee, eventually retiring as the Lewis Whitaker Adams Professor of Economics.

John had a reputation as a demanding teacher and a caring mentor. He helped students find jobs, apply to business or law school, or seek a postgraduate fellowship. The numerous recognitions that John received included the establishment of two endowed scholarships in his name. He relished getting to know many of the successive Gunn scholars.

Not afraid of change, John was an outspoken advocate for coeducation at Washington & Lee and joined the call for the university to drop Robert E. Lee’s name.

John is survived by son David and granddaughter Gwendolyn.

Graduate alumni memorials are prepared by the APGA.