At the College of Wooster, he majored in zoology — his lifelong preoccupation and subject of his teaching for 19 years at the University of Missouri and then for 20 years at the University of Oklahoma, where he was chair of the zoology department. Before earning a Ph.D. he was drafted into the Army and earned U.S. citizenship.
John died July 13, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Margaret; and three children, Johann, Steve, and Susan. To them the class sends condolences and appreciation for their father’s military service.