John “Jack” Archibald MacFadyen, B.A. M.S., Ph.D., aged 90, of Stonington, CT, died on September 1st at Westerly Hospital, surrounded by his family.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 45 years, Diane L. MacFadyen; his three children by his first wife Nancy Gerrish MacFadyen: John A. (“Terry”) MacFadyen III and his wife B. Jean Rosiello and their sons James, Alexander, and Christopher, Janet Cochrane MacFadyen and husband Stephen Schmidt, and Jean Gerrish MacFadyen and husband Jerold Harmatz; and his two stepchildren Diane de Mailly and Robert G. de Mailly and his wife Evelyn and their son John.
Born on July 10, 1922 in Scranton, PA, Jack was the son of the late John A. MacFadyen and Jessie Mott Peck MacFadyen and brother of the late Jessie MacFadyen.
From summers spent on Martha’s Vineyard, Jack developed a consuming love of sailing and the sea. The panoramic view of Vineyard Sound and constant shipping traffic led to an encyclopedic knowledge and love of all things maritime. At age 16, he dropped out of the local high school and signed on the Selma City, a tramp steamer, for six months as an ordinary seaman. Back home, realizing school was better than chipping paint, he finished high school at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ.
Jack entered Williams College as a member of the Class of 1945, but interrupted his sophomore year studies to join the Navy after Pearl Harbor. He served as a chief quartermaster on the U.S.S. Hale, operating mainly in the Pacific, hitting every single major engagement following Midway with the exception of Iwo Jima.
Decommissioned in 1945, he returned to Williams College to graduate with a major in chemistry, finishing in 1948 but electing to remain as a member of the Class of ’45.
Realizing how much he loved the outdoors, Jack switched his major field of study to geology, earning his Masters from Lehigh University in 1950 and joining the Williams faculty in 1952. He earned his Ph.D. in structural geology from Columbia University in 1962. In 1967, Jack became a full Professor and Chairman of the Williams geology department and was later named the Edna McConnell Clark Professor of Geology in 1976 .
The understanding of plate tectonics in the 60’s transformed geology from an art to a hard science and Jack’s background in chemistry and geology propelled the Williams geology department to the cutting edge of this transition. In addition, Jack introduced oceanography to the Williams curriculum. An expert in Western New England geology, Jack also had a thriving consulting practice in the fields of fault capability and seismic risk for numerous eastern nuclear power sites. A classic outdoors geologist, he spent summers mapping forlorn parts of Norway, always with one of his sons or students in tow, and held research and teaching positions in Norway, Denmark and London during sabbaticals from Williams.
Over the course of 25 years, during summers and eventual retirement to Stonington, CT in 1983, Jack spent consuming hours at the Mystic Seaport Museum, identifying and dating the yachts featured in the prestigious Rosenfeld collection of maritime photographs. Jack and his wife Diane were both dedicated Pilots of Mystic Seaport.
The memorial service will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of John A. MacFadyen to: Mystic Seaport Museum, The Rosenfeld Collection, 75 Greenmanville Ave., Mystic, CT 06355.
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