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Raised in the Schenectady area, John graduated with honors from Mt. Pleasant High School's Technical Mechanical Program, working seasonally as a mail carrier through high school and college. At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute he worked as a machinist and then as an engineering co-op with General Electric's Large Steam Turbine Division—an experience that shaped what he wanted from his studies and made them far more valuable. He graduated at the top of his class and received the Ricketts Prize in engineering. After a stint in the Navy from 1969-70, a National Science Foundation Fellowship brought him back to RPI, where he completed a thesis in rotor dynamics and earned his Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering in 1973.
He joined DuPont's Engineering Services Division as a consultant on large turbines, compressors, and gear sets, serving DuPont plants and customers worldwide— Iran, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, etc. On the day he arrived he met Becky, who would be his wife of 52 years. The travel was punishing (and produced no shortage of stories), and when it became clear the job was incompatible with raising children, he requested a transfer – and was sent to Victoria, Texas where DuPont had a large Petrochemical plant. He moved up the ranks to eventually become the plant production manager. His son Stephen arrived in 1976 and daughter Amanda a few years later.
John then accepted a transfer to Aiken, South Carolina and a large plant where U.S. Government contractors produce nuclear materials to support the Nation's nuclear deterrent. He held assignments in engineering, technology development, and mega-project management before taking over the Lab's National and Homeland Security organization—hundreds of engineers and scientists, hundreds of millions in funding, and work for most of the three-letter agencies. As he puts it: they made a big difference, but he can't talk about it.
After retiring in 2012, he consulted through his own LLC and helped his former employer's retiree organization navigate a new health care program and Medicare, a program serving thousands, and he saved them millions.
Becky was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2016, and he became her primary caregiver until her death this past March. He still keeps his home in South Carolina but has taken an apartment in Westport to be near his daughter, son-in-law, and his three grandchildren. His daughter recommended the Y's Men.
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