John Walter Kennedy ’72

John died June 8, 2004, of a heart attack in Chestertown, Md., where he and his wife, Cherilyn Widell, had recently moved from Menlo Park, Calif.

John was born on Staten Island and graduated from North Babylon High School on Long Island, where his intelligence and determination on the football field made up for his size and earned him a spot on the varsity squad. At Princeton he played 150-pound football, and lived in Wilson College. His '72 roommates included Rick Richard, Brian Smith, Bob Putnam, and Al Rogers; other close '72 friends included Cal Kendrick and Owen Curtis.

Graduating with an AB cum laude in statistics, John went on to earn a master's at Rutgers. He built a career as an independent consultant in clinical biostatistics, based in Plainsboro, N.J., until his move to California in 1990. John lectured and consulted widely in the international medical-products industry, chaired association committees, and contributed frequently to professional journals and seminars.

Besides Cherilyn, John's survivors include his mother, Alicia Quinn Kennedy Geye; sisters Anne Kennedy Haney and Jane Kennedy Stahl; cousin Andrew Lochart '86; and numerous nieces and nephews. The class sends its sincere condolences to all.

The Class of 1972