John A. Gustafson ’48

John A. Gustafson ’48, Ph.D.,died unexpectedly on June 12 at Cortland (New York) Regional Medical Center. John was born in Boston and showed an early interest in the world of nature and living things. He attended Boston public schools, enrolling in the horticulture emphasis program at Jamaica Plain High School. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps at age 17 and as part of their V-12 program was stationed at Dartmouth for four semesters, when he was introduced to camping and hiking by the College’s naturalist, Douglas Wade. It was there that John’s commitment to natural history and environmental education took root. He was a member of Cabin & Trail and the Dartmouth Outing Club. He was deployed to China after the war ended as part of the occupation forces. In 1948 he graduated from Dartmouth and entered Cornell’s graduate program in science education with field natural history emphasis. In 1950 he took the marine zoology course at the marine biological laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where he met and married Nancy Johnson. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War and returned to get his Ph.D. from Cornell in 1954. He joined the faculty at SUNY Cortland, where he served from 1955 to his retirement in 1981. In 1978 he was instrumental in obtaining a National Science Foundation grant for SUNY Cortland, designed to enhance its field study programs. John is survived by Nancy; children Walter ’74, Daniel, J. Olaf, Laura and Martha; 12 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.