John W. Bittig ’57

Jack died Jan. 17, 2022, in Royersford, Pa.

Coming to Princeton from Nyack (N.Y.) High School, where he was a track and cross-country runner, he continued on the track team at Princeton, receiving varsity letters in 1955 and 1956. Jack was a member of Elm Club, where he played intramural football and basketball. His senior-year roommates were Bill Booker, Fred Greear, Paul Gwyn, and Jim McCutchan. He majored in aeronautical engineering, and after graduation worked at McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis and the General Electric Missile and Space and Military Programs divisions (later Lockheed Martin) in Pennsylvania, where he became a senior systems engineer.

Jack was active in church and community service, achieving the Silver Beaver Award for leadership in the Boy Scouts, and the position of district governor in the Lions Club. He also served on the township planning commission, where he proudly declared that a local attorney called him “an obstructionist” as he voted to preserve the semi-rural nature of his town.

Jack and his wife, Ruth Ann Chadwick Bittig, spent many hours restoring their Revolutionary-era stone house in the Valley Forge area, before retiring to Royersford. Continuing a lifetime of travel after retirement, he and Ruth visited most U.S. states and 55 foreign countries.

He is survived by Ruth, his wife of 62 years; two daughters, Lisa B. Moeser and Kristen B. Troutman; son Mark; and several grandchildren.