John Van Bibber ’53

John was born in New York City, prepared at Taft, and majored in history at Princeton. He dined at Tower with roommates Bill Perry and Dudley Smith and was a combat Navy pilot aboard the carrier USS Shangri-La while stationed in the Pacific during the Korean conflict. He died from the effects of Alzheimer’s disease in Louisville, Ky., May 18, 2011.

Jim Metcalfe, a Louisville native, recalls with pleasure meeting John at Princeton in a fall freshman tennis tournament and regrets that somehow their paths on campus rarely crossed. Coincidentally, John’s yet-to-be wife was a bridesmaid in Jim’s wedding, and Jim’s future wife was an attendant in John’s marriage. When John moved to Louisville, he became executive vice president of Liberty National Bank (he also was a past chair of the American Mortgage Bankers Association) and bought a home in Jim’s neighborhood. The two became close friends.

Jim sadly reports that John developed early Alzheimer’s in 2003 and was lovingly cared for by his companion of 28 years, Susan Williams. Besides Susan, John is survived by sons John Jr. and Chase L.; Susan’s daughter, Elizabeth Hancock Todd; and Elizabeth’s two sons, who considered John as their grandfather. We celebrate John’s spirit as we mourn his death.