John McVickar Haight ’40

On July 27, 1997, Lehigh Professor Emeritus John "Doc" Haight died at his Ontario, Canada, summer home. At a Bethlehem, Pa., memorial service, reflections on Doc's life were delivered by our classmate, the Rev. Pat Merle-Smith. Present were '40ers Chiz Anderson, Bill Farrar, Mac Halsey, and Ted Sauer.

Doc joined '40 with that splendid Kent School group, graduated with history honors, rowed 150-lb. crew, was Cloister Inn manager, and received honorable mention for the Joline Prize in Political History. During WWII, he served as an Army captain from D-Day+11 in the European theater.

While an early history instructor at Lehigh, Doc earned his MA from Yale and PhD from Northwestern. His teaching efforts, principally modern European history, were recognized when he was honored with the Stabler Award for excellence in teaching. His book American Aid to France 1938-1940 received wide acclaim. A Lehigh colleague of Doc's has described him "as a good colleague, a good scholar, a fine teacher, and a great family man. . . . His impact on his students was summed up by the comment, 'he was a legend.' "

Doc is survived by his wife, Debby, three daughters, one son, and nine grandchildren. We offer our sincere sympathy to the entire family and deeply mourn the loss of this distinguished educator and highly respected member of the Class of '40.

The Class of 1940