Amherst, MA – John W. McDermott, Jr., age 85, died at home on July 26, 2026 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. We are grateful to the staff at the Arbors and Integra Home Health Care, who made it possible for him to spend the last year of his life with his wife Emily and their dog Archer.
John was born on November 8,1940 in Waltham, Massachusetts, to John W. McDermott Sr. and Charlotte Gibbs McDermott. In 1948, the family moved to Wolfeboro, NH, to be closer to extended family. He had an idyllic boyhood on Lake Winnipesaukee, especially at Camp Belknap and with his aunt and uncle, Connie and Ralph Carpenter, at their camp on Barndoor Island. During college summers, he worked at the Brook and Bridle Inn on the lake. John attended Carpenter School through 8th grade and graduated from Brewster Free Academy in 1958. His cousin Norman Turner, who had graduated from Amherst in 1932, introduced him to Amherst College. John fell in love with the college immediately, he was an active member of the Class of 1962.
After Amherst, he earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University, where he also met Emily Sykes. John and Emily were married in New York City on January 31, 1964. They taught public school in the Baltimore area and then moved to Davis, California so that John could pursue graduate study in history. In 1968, John joined the faculty of Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and he enrolled at Temple University at the same time. He earned his Ed.D In history and education policy studies from Temple in 1976. From 1987 until his retirement in 2003, he was Vice President for Planning and Enrollment at Moravian (now Moravian University). John and Emily moved to Amherst in 2003, where their daughter Katie McDermott lived with her family.
John had a beautiful baritone voice and a deep curiosity about the world. He made connections with people wherever he went, including Hastings in stationery store in Amherst, where he informally provided college advice to many high-school student employees. In addition to his family, his three great loves were education, music, and animals.
At Moravian, John prepared social-studies teachers and taught courses on the history and foundations of education. By his count, he helped prepare about a thousand teachers during his years on the faculty. He was recognized as Pennsylvania Teacher-Educator of the Year in 1987. In retirement, John mentored students at Amherst and Hampshire Colleges. Shortly after moving to Amherst, John attended a presentation at Amherst College by Eric Glustrom and Boris Bulayev, two students who were building Educate!, a non-profit organization focused on creating educational opportunities for refugee children in Uganda. John served as a member and chair of Educate’s board as the organization’s activities expanded from paying children’s school fees to operating its own youth programs focused on leadership and social entrepreneurship for over 1,000 students per year. John had a lifelong interest in alternative education and homeschooling, which inspired him to join the board of North Star Teens in the Pioneer Valley.
John loved attending baroque and classical concerts, and he sang from his early childhood in Waltham until his 84th year. He was a member of the Amherst College Glee Club for the 1959 premier of Randall Thompson’s Frostiana and 1961 European tour with the Smith College Chamber Singers. In Pennsylvania, John joined the Lehigh University Choral Union at its founding in 1985. When he returned to Amherst, he joined the Hampshire Choral Society and served on its board. His well-developed sense of humor was an asset when he led the group through several rounds of bylaws revisions. He also served on the board of the Hampshire Young People’s Chorus.
John was a keen observer and lover of animals, whether or not they were his own pets. He and Emily had numerous cats and 5 English cocker spaniels during their years together. He knew the names of any dogs or cats at the stores he patronized. He was a birdwatcher, and he loved hearing the loons at Clearwater Lodges in Wolfeboro. He even was a friend of snapping turtles. Whenever he saw one attempting to cross Wildflower Drive in Amherst, he would get out his snow shovel, gently guide the turtle onto it, and carry it to safety.
John is survived by Emily, his wife of 62 years, daughter, Katie McDermott, her husband Mark Landeryou, and grandson James Landeryou, of Amherst, granddaughter Charlotte Landeryou and granddaughter-in-law Jorie Thuon of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and brother-in-law Paul Kaplan of Gunnison, Colorado. His sister, Cindy McDermott Kaplan, died in March 2026.
We will celebrate John’s life with a memorial gathering at South Congregational Church in Amherst on Friday, October 16, at 4 PM. Burial will be at Lakeview Cemetery in Wolfeboro, NH, at 3 PM on Saturday, October 17. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Educate!, North Star, the Hampshire Choral Society, or any other organization connected with education, music, or animal welfare.
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