Lincoln, John E.

Description

John E. Lincoln was born in New York in 1926. In Rye his family lived at 180 Locust Avenue. John enlisted and served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

John Ewing Lincoln passed away peacefully at his home in Hanover, NH just before dawn on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009. A brave and spiritual man, his strength of character, devotion to others and passion for his family, friends, favorite Life causes, and life were, and remain, an inspiration.

Born on March 30, 1926 and raised in Rye, N.Y., John was an outstanding student. Following his graduation with high honors from Deerfield Academy, he immediately volunteered for military service, completing basic training and serving in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a Master Sergeant in the Pacific during World War II. He served as a combat engineer in
the Army for three years seeing
duty on Luzon in the Philippines
and in Japan.

He attended Princeton University on the G.I. Bill and received a BA in English, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1949.

Following graduation, he married Mary Richardson of Greenwich, Conn.’ The newlyweds moved to Manhattan, where John earned an MA with honors in English from Columbia University. A teacher for over 40) years, he began his career at The Choate School in Wallingford. Conn., where he became head of the English department. During a two year sabbatical from Choate, he took his young family overseas to teach at Athens College in Greece, where he cultivated a lifelong love of Greek culture.

Following his return to Choate, he spent three summers teaching in the A Better Chance (ABC) Program, sponsored by the Tucker Foundation at Dartmouth College and three years teaching in the Transitional Year Program (TYP). sponsored by Yale University and Wesleyan University, both of which served underprivileged students from the inner city. In 1969, he joined the faculty at Dartmouth College, was awarded tenure in 1973, and declined tenure because he believed a tenured position for a professor addressing the composition. grammar and literature training of minority students should be filled by a person of color. He then taught at Philips Andover Academy, Lebanon High School and Hanover High School before retiring from the classroom in 1989.

A devoted teacher who loved interacting with young people, he was also the co-author of a best-selling college textbook on writing published by W.W. Norton. An active volunteer and advocate for others, John devoted his time, energy and expertise to several causes. He was a founder, original study group leader and preshis ident of the Institute for Lifecauses, long Education at Dartremain, Lincoln mouth (ILEAD), a board member of The Hostel and Lincoln The Howe Library, and a volunteer at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where he dressed up as Raggedy Andy to visit patients. Generous, principled, and non-materialistic, he had a passion for equal opportunity and the conviction to take action for what he believed in.

His sense of humor, courage and optimism over the course of his long illness was remarkable. He enjoyed many activities, including walking, hiking, biking, playing tennis and squash, reading, traveling, sharing meals with friends. studying Greek mythology, rooting for the Red Sox. spending time with his grandchildren, and his winter home and friends in Naples, Fla. A kind, compassionate, and gentle man, he embodied the Buddhist qualities which were a source of his strength and wisdom, and served as the core of his faith.

As a husband, father, mentor, role model, and good friend, John will be sorely missed.

At the time of his death, he was survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary Richardson Lincoln, of Hanover; his son. Peter, of Alexandria, Virginia; his son. Chris and his wife Cecy, of East Thetford, Vt.; his son. Brian and his wife, Robin, of Louisville, Colo.; his two grandsons, Nolan and Nicholas, of East Thetford; his granddaughter, Isabella, of Louisville, Colo.: his sister, Jean Fish, of Wilmington. Del.; and his brother, Tom Lincoln, of Vero Beach, Fla.

He was predeceased by his brother Alan Mawson Lincoln