John Craig Heston Jr. ’54

John Craig Heston Jr. ’54 died on March 2 of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at Kendal in Hanover. John was a graduate of the Haverford (Pennsylvania) School. He was an English major at Dartmouth and was a member of Zeta Psi, Casque & Gauntlet, Green Key and the Dartmouth Outing Club. John was also a member of the Glee Club and served as 1954 Winter Carnival chairman. An ROTC student, John was commissioned an ensign and served two years on a destroyer in the Navy. In 1956 John began his advertising career with N.W. Ayer in Philadelphia, followed by 26 years at Oglivy & Mather in New York, where he rose to senior vice president and director. One of John’s main accounts was American Express, and he is credited with helping to create the signature ads “Don’t leave home without it” and “Do you know me?” John traveled the world assisting in the introduction of credit cards throughout Europe. Accepting an offer from his friend and classmate Dave McLaughlin ’54, then serving as president of Dartmouth, John began the second half of his career as Dartmouth’s director of communications. He was involved in many community projects and was a trustee of the Montshire Museum in Norwich, Vermont. He served as a member of the assembly of overseers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. John is survived by Betty, his wife of 51 years; children Laurie, Cindy and husband Michael, and Bill and wife Sue, and eight grandchildren.