John N. Beidler ’67

John died Aug. 25, 2023, in Chapel Hill, N.C., where he moved in 2022 after residing in Princeton for 65 years. He was 78.

John attended Princeton Middle School and Princeton High School. At the University, he belonged to Ivy, participated in the Campus Fund Drive and the 21 Club, was coxswain on freshman crew, and worked at the student center. He roomed at 313 Lockhart with Blair Lee and Tom Peppler.

After graduation John enlisted in the Army, serving at Fort Dix as a private and then completing officer school. He served three years, including 12 months in Vietnam. He was awarded a Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, Air Medal, and Vietnam Service Medal.

John then attended Rutgers Law School, graduating in 1973. He began practice with the New Jersey-based firm of Smith, Stratton, Wise & Heber, becoming partner in 1978. His work specialized in product liability law, mostly for Johnson & Johnson. In 1983, he was asked to join the J&J legal department and he spent 23 years there, retiring in 2004.

In 1974, John married Marsha Wolf, a fellow Rutgers law alum. The couple adopted two children from Bulgaria — Dora, age 5, and Evan, age 3. Marsha died Nov. 6, 2023. John was an avid reader, mostly novels in youth and nonfiction after our graduation. Retirement permitted time to pursue his hobbies playing bridge and gardening.

Some of John’s ashes were buried in Princeton Cemetery, and the balance was to be buried in North Carolina. The Class of 1967 mourns the loss of a highly respected member and the longest resident of our alma mater community.