John S. Kovach ’58

Jack died Oct. 5, 2023, in Shaker Heights, Ohio. He had just turned 87.

He came to Princeton from Shaker Heights High School, where he was president of the senior class and a member of the swim team.

At Princeton, Jack was treasurer of Quadrangle Club and active in the Pre-Medical Society, majoring in biology. He roomed with Thor Halvorsen and Chris Clutz in junior year and lived in Quadrangle during senior year.

After graduation, Jack went to medical school at Columbia and completed his internship and residency there as well. Then, he spent six years at NIH, returned to Columbia on the faculty of the department of medicine, and after three years he joined the Mayo Clinic. There he developed a new cancer pharmacology program. While at Mayo, Jack met Barbara Ehmcke, while playing tennis — and then bought the house next door to her in the hopes of getting to know her better. They married one year later.

In 1994, he moved to City of Hope National Medical Center in Los Angles. In 2000, he moved to Stony Brook University as a founding director of a start-up cancer center.

Jack is survived by Barbara, two daughters, two grandsons, and a stepson. The class extends its deepest sympathy to them all.