Holyoke, Mass. —
John grew up in Hanover, the middle son of Dartmouth professor Carl England and Margaret (Peg) England. As a boy he loved to swim in the ocean on Nantucket where he spent many summers at Surfside and where his brothers, Carl and Peter, still reside.
John’s professional life reflected his love of new frontiers and a more contemplative life. After graduating from the University of New Hampshire and serving as a naval officer, John started a family with his first wife Adelaide in the 1950’s while working in advertising on Madison Avenue. In the 1970s, he and Adelaide moved their family north to Williamstown, Mass. where he began a second successful career as a potter and ceramic artist.
In the 1980s John earned a masters degree in social work from Smith College and moved back to the Upper Valley with his future wife, Patricia Owens, to begin his final career as a psychotherapist. They spent three happy decades in Vermont gardening, fixing up old houses and hosting family gatherings in Roxbury, Strafford, and Newbury.
John was exceptionally proud of his three children – Kim, a talented goldsmith; Karen, an educator and therapist, and John Jr., an inveterate entrepreneur. He was very fond of their spouses, Mike, Paul and Angie; his six grandsons, Matthew, Evan, Nikolas, Riley, Taylor, and Henry; and his great-grandson Parker. John was also an important figure in the lives of Patricia’s five sons (Peter, Stephen, Tim, Jake and Christopher) and two grandchildren, James and Amanda.
John will be remembered as a careful listener and a thoughtful man. He was happiest engrossed in conversation, reading a book or swimming in the Roxbury pond.
There will be no funeral. A celebration of his life will be held later in the spring. In lieu of flowers please remember John by listening to a friend or taking a quiet walk in the woods.