John S. MacDonald Jr. ’65
John S. MacDonald Jr. ’65, M.D., died on July 14, 2025 at home in Annapolis, Maryland. He came to Dartmouth from Scarsdale, New York, via Phillips Exeter Academy; a biology major and member of Tabard, he continued on through Dartmouth Medical School and earned his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1969. Jack dedicated his life to the relentless pursuit of knowledge, compassionate care of his patients, and transformative advancement of cancer research and treatment. He pioneered the use of chemoradiation after surgical resection of gastric cancers, a treatment approach that came to be known as the “Macdonald Regimen.” A significant chapter of his career was his leadership at Aptium Oncology. From 1998 to 2012 he served as chief medical officer and was instrumental in establishing and maintaining hospital and patient care quality and standards. Returning to direct patient care and academic leadership in New York, he was medical director (1997-2007) and chief of the division of medical oncology (1999-2007) at Saint Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center. Jack authored more than 400 articles, abstracts, and book chapters in prestigious medical journals. His international standing was recognized through his membership in the International Union Against Cancer Roll of Honour in Geneva, Switzerland. He received the Luminary Award in 2018 from the Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancers at Georgetown University. Jack is survived by his wife, Sue, and their children Margaret, John, Kathleen, and Fred and their partners.
