Longtime ASA member John W. Wilkinson, 91, of Acton, Massachusetts—formerly of Schenectady, New York—passed away of natural causes May 14, 2020. John was a devoted husband, recently preceded in death by his wife, Jean.
John grew up in Havelock, Ontario. He remembered spending high-school summers in the Air Cadets in Trenton, Ontario. After high school, John earned a BA from Queen’s University in 1950. He met Jean in September of 1949 and decided to stay at Queens to earn his MA (1952). During his college years, he spent summers in the Canadian Navy ROTC and was active in the Canadian Naval Reserve from 1946–1952. John married Jean in 1953 in North Bay, Ontario. After their honeymoon, they moved to North Carolina, where John earned his PhD (1956) from The University of North Carolina Department of Statistics and Operations Research (analysis of paired comparison designs with incomplete repetitions).
John returned to Kingston, Ontario, and taught in the math department at Queen’s University (1956–1958). He and Jean moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1958, where he worked for Westinghouse. In 1965, John accepted a teaching position at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), where he spent the rest of his career until retiring in 1994.
In 1971, John was honored as an Outstanding Educator of America for contributions to the advancement of higher education and community service. John served as editor of Technometrics from 1978–1980. A member of the ASA for more than 50 years, John was honored as a fellow in 1972.
Outside of work, John and Jean were involved with round dancing. They started dancing in 1962, started teaching dancing in 1967, and started a national carousel dance club in 1976. They served on the Universal Round Dance Council board from 1995–2000 and 2008–2009, chaired several dance conventions, were involved with Roundarama and ROUNDALAB, and choreographed several dances.
John was also involved in the community, serving on the board of trustees for Girls Inc. Foundation Trust of Schenectady; volunteering with the Proctors Theatre Guild, Planned Parenthood, and the Schenectady/Nijkerk Council; and participating as a member of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady for more than 55 years. He was also a strong supporter of Jean’s work with Hospice. In 2009, Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson presented John and Jean with the Giraffe Award for “sticking their necks out for reproductive rights.” Additionally, John and Jean were honored in 2010 with the YWCA’s Katherine S. Rozendaal Award for the positive impact their volunteer leadership and activities had on the Schenectady community.
John’s other interests included travel, square dancing, attending cultural performances, visiting museums, sailing, skating/hockey, skiing, reading, and playing bridge and cribbage. John was a lifelong student and enjoyed classes at the Union College Academy for Lifelong Learning.
John and Jean moved to Acton in November of 2018 to be closer to their granddaughters.
To honor John’s life, a donation may be made to Girls Inc. of the Greater Capital Region or Proctors Theatre in lieu of flowers.
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