OBITUARY (J. S. Waterman Langone Chapel Funeral & Cremation)
John Townsend Fitch
APRIL 7, 1926 – NOVEMBER 28, 2020
John Townsend Fitch died on November 28, 2020 at the age of 94 at his home in Boston, Massachusetts.
John was born to missionary parents George Ashmore Fitch and Geraldine Townsend Fitch on April 7, 1926 in Shanghai, China. He departed for the US in 1937, as the Japanese troops neared Nanking, and there attended schools in Pasadena, CA, Wooster, OH, Cambridge, MA, and Lake Placid, NY.
John met his loving wife, Mary Elizabeth Hall, in the summer of 1942 at Silver Bay YMCA Conference Center, on Lake George, New York. John worked in the kitchen and Mary was a waitress in the children's dining room.
After beginning college at M.I.T. in 1943, John joined the World War II effort by enlisting in the Navy where he served as an electronics technician with training in California. Mary joined him there in 1945 to be married shortly before he shipped out to the South Pacific and they were subsequently separated for nearly 3 years. By happenstance, when the war ended his ship docked in the closest harbor, Shanghai, the city of his birth, where he was greeted by his father, who had himself helped in the security of the Nanking Safety Zone during the Japanese invasion.
John got his first taste of radio broadcasting at an Armed Forces Radio Station there and went on to build and operate a similar station in Nanking. After completing her education at Colby College, Mary was able to join him for a year in China, however they had to leave on short notice when communist forces advanced on Nanking. John was pictured in LIFE Magazine in 1948, as the U.S. Military Advisory Group was packing up to leave.
Arriving in the U.S. shortly after the birth of their first child, John completed his electrical engineering degree at M.I.T. and together with Mary moved their growing family to the Conantum Community in Concord, MA, where they raised six children in a home amidst tall pines and the azaleas they planted, .
While attending MIT, John had begun working as a radio and television announcer in Boston. Utilizing the radio name John McLellan, he had a 10-year career as a host of jazz programs, including The Top Shelf and Live from Storyville. He also wrote a weekly column, The Jazz Scene, for the Boston Traveler newspaper. In 1955 he produced "Living History of Jazz", played to 16,000 in Boston Public Garden and the following year was Master of Ceremonies at the first Newport Jazz Festival. In 1958, John broadcast the first Jazz Scene show on WHDH-TV's Dateline Boston. Still later, he became the on-camera host for the 6-year run of the "M.I.T. Science Reporter" series on public television.
John then served for thirteen years on the staff of M.I.T. directing technology-based education and marketing, before becoming Executive Director of the Association for Media-based Continuing Education for Engineers, a post he held until retirement in 1987. He is the author of several papers on continuing education. On the side, John and his chemist brother Robert McLellan Fitch, produced numerous educational science films for distribution by their own family business, Kalmia Company.
In addition to his diverse careers, John engaged in many hobbies: camping and hiking with his young family, sailing, traveling, bonsai, cooking, and collecting 19th century American paintings and Chinese artifacts. Upon retirement, John and Mary moved to Cambridge, MA and John began extensive research into the Fitch family history and genealogy, authoring many books on the English and American ancestors of the family. John and Mary continued traveling the world well into their 90's and have volunteered for and made contributions throughout their lives to diverse charities. They recently moved to a senior living facility in Brighton MA at which they have been warmly welcomed – forging new and meaningful friendships.
John is survived by his wife of 75 years, his brother, and six grown children. He lived to enjoy two more generations with six grandchildren and six great grandchildren. He was supportive of his wife's career as an elementary school teacher and a loving father who helped support the education of all his descendants and inquired with interest about their work and hobbies.
John's children cherish the audio recordings and science reporter film clips, in which their father's resonant voice moved seamlessly from serious interview questioning to chuckling camaraderie with jazz greats and scientists. They recall their father as quick to tear up with sentiment at family reunions and his willingness to change with the times – learning in his 80s to show his affection with warm hugs. Before he died, John said he had done everything in life that he wanted to do, except live to 100.
John's ashes will be laid to rest in the Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA.
Here is a link to an article about his jazz career: https://www.troystreet.com/2013/04/07/on-april-7-1926/
And for more about his MIT Science Reporter series see http://museum.mit.edu/150/34
and this link to just one of the many Apollo Mission related broadcasts he reported https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl8t-sUFuVM
You can get more information about John McLellan's life from his autobiography "What, When & Where" by John Townsend Fitch https://www.amazon.com/What-When-Where-Autobiography-Townsend/dp/1479286761
Note: The names of survivors have been removed out of respect for their privacy and in compliance with Find A Grave guidelines.
John Townsend Fitch
APRIL 7, 1926 – NOVEMBER 28, 2020
John Townsend Fitch died on November 28, 2020 at the age of 94 at his home in Boston, Massachusetts.
John was born to missionary parents George Ashmore Fitch and Geraldine Townsend Fitch on April 7, 1926 in Shanghai, China. He departed for the US in 1937, as the Japanese troops neared Nanking, and there attended schools in Pasadena, CA, Wooster, OH, Cambridge, MA, and Lake Placid, NY.
John met his loving wife, Mary Elizabeth Hall, in the summer of 1942 at Silver Bay YMCA Conference Center, on Lake George, New York. John worked in the kitchen and Mary was a waitress in the children's dining room.
After beginning college at M.I.T. in 1943, John joined the World War II effort by enlisting in the Navy where he served as an electronics technician with training in California. Mary joined him there in 1945 to be married shortly before he shipped out to the South Pacific and they were subsequently separated for nearly 3 years. By happenstance, when the war ended his ship docked in the closest harbor, Shanghai, the city of his birth, where he was greeted by his father, who had himself helped in the security of the Nanking Safety Zone during the Japanese invasion.
John got his first taste of radio broadcasting at an Armed Forces Radio Station there and went on to build and operate a similar station in Nanking. After completing her education at Colby College, Mary was able to join him for a year in China, however they had to leave on short notice when communist forces advanced on Nanking. John was pictured in LIFE Magazine in 1948, as the U.S. Military Advisory Group was packing up to leave.
Arriving in the U.S. shortly after the birth of their first child, John completed his electrical engineering degree at M.I.T. and together with Mary moved their growing family to the Conantum Community in Concord, MA, where they raised six children in a home amidst tall pines and the azaleas they planted, .
While attending MIT, John had begun working as a radio and television announcer in Boston. Utilizing the radio name John McLellan, he had a 10-year career as a host of jazz programs, including The Top Shelf and Live from Storyville. He also wrote a weekly column, The Jazz Scene, for the Boston Traveler newspaper. In 1955 he produced "Living History of Jazz", played to 16,000 in Boston Public Garden and the following year was Master of Ceremonies at the first Newport Jazz Festival. In 1958, John broadcast the first Jazz Scene show on WHDH-TV's Dateline Boston. Still later, he became the on-camera host for the 6-year run of the "M.I.T. Science Reporter" series on public television.
John then served for thirteen years on the staff of M.I.T. directing technology-based education and marketing, before becoming Executive Director of the Association for Media-based Continuing Education for Engineers, a post he held until retirement in 1987. He is the author of several papers on continuing education. On the side, John and his chemist brother Robert McLellan Fitch, produced numerous educational science films for distribution by their own family business, Kalmia Company.
In addition to his diverse careers, John engaged in many hobbies: camping and hiking with his young family, sailing, traveling, bonsai, cooking, and collecting 19th century American paintings and Chinese artifacts. Upon retirement, John and Mary moved to Cambridge, MA and John began extensive research into the Fitch family history and genealogy, authoring many books on the English and American ancestors of the family. John and Mary continued traveling the world well into their 90's and have volunteered for and made contributions throughout their lives to diverse charities. They recently moved to a senior living facility in Brighton MA at which they have been warmly welcomed – forging new and meaningful friendships.
John is survived by his wife of 75 years, his brother, and six grown children. He lived to enjoy two more generations with six grandchildren and six great grandchildren. He was supportive of his wife's career as an elementary school teacher and a loving father who helped support the education of all his descendants and inquired with interest about their work and hobbies.
John's children cherish the audio recordings and science reporter film clips, in which their father's resonant voice moved seamlessly from serious interview questioning to chuckling camaraderie with jazz greats and scientists. They recall their father as quick to tear up with sentiment at family reunions and his willingness to change with the times – learning in his 80s to show his affection with warm hugs. Before he died, John said he had done everything in life that he wanted to do, except live to 100.
John's ashes will be laid to rest in the Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA.
Here is a link to an article about his jazz career: https://www.troystreet.com/2013/04/07/on-april-7-1926/
And for more about his MIT Science Reporter series see http://museum.mit.edu/150/34
and this link to just one of the many Apollo Mission related broadcasts he reported https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl8t-sUFuVM
You can get more information about John McLellan's life from his autobiography "What, When & Where" by John Townsend Fitch https://www.amazon.com/What-When-Where-Autobiography-Townsend/dp/1479286761
Note: The names of survivors have been removed out of respect for their privacy and in compliance with Find A Grave guidelines.
OBITUARY (J. S. Waterman Langone Chapel Funeral & Cremation)
John Townsend Fitch
APRIL 7, 1926 – NOVEMBER 28, 2020
John Townsend Fitch died on November 28, 2020 at the age of 94 at his home in Boston, Massachusetts.
John was born to missionary parents George Ashmore Fitch and Geraldine Townsend Fitch on April 7, 1926 in Shanghai, China. He departed for the US in 1937, as the Japanese troops neared Nanking, and there attended schools in Pasadena, CA, Wooster, OH, Cambridge, MA, and Lake Placid, NY.
John met his loving wife, Mary Elizabeth Hall, in the summer of 1942 at Silver Bay YMCA Conference Center, on Lake George, New York. John worked in the kitchen and Mary was a waitress in the children's dining room.
After beginning college at M.I.T. in 1943, John joined the World War II effort by enlisting in the Navy where he served as an electronics technician with training in California. Mary joined him there in 1945 to be married shortly before he shipped out to the South Pacific and they were subsequently separated for nearly 3 years. By happenstance, when the war ended his ship docked in the closest harbor, Shanghai, the city of his birth, where he was greeted by his father, who had himself helped in the security of the Nanking Safety Zone during the Japanese invasion.
John got his first taste of radio broadcasting at an Armed Forces Radio Station there and went on to build and operate a similar station in Nanking. After completing her education at Colby College, Mary was able to join him for a year in China, however they had to leave on short notice when communist forces advanced on Nanking. John was pictured in LIFE Magazine in 1948, as the U.S. Military Advisory Group was packing up to leave.
Arriving in the U.S. shortly after the birth of their first child, John completed his electrical engineering degree at M.I.T. and together with Mary moved their growing family to the Conantum Community in Concord, MA, where they raised six children in a home amidst tall pines and the azaleas they planted, .
While attending MIT, John had begun working as a radio and television announcer in Boston. Utilizing the radio name John McLellan, he had a 10-year career as a host of jazz programs, including The Top Shelf and Live from Storyville. He also wrote a weekly column, The Jazz Scene, for the Boston Traveler newspaper. In 1955 he produced "Living History of Jazz", played to 16,000 in Boston Public Garden and the following year was Master of Ceremonies at the first Newport Jazz Festival. In 1958, John broadcast the first Jazz Scene show on WHDH-TV's Dateline Boston. Still later, he became the on-camera host for the 6-year run of the "M.I.T. Science Reporter" series on public television.
John then served for thirteen years on the staff of M.I.T. directing technology-based education and marketing, before becoming Executive Director of the Association for Media-based Continuing Education for Engineers, a post he held until retirement in 1987. He is the author of several papers on continuing education. On the side, John and his chemist brother Robert McLellan Fitch, produced numerous educational science films for distribution by their own family business, Kalmia Company.
In addition to his diverse careers, John engaged in many hobbies: camping and hiking with his young family, sailing, traveling, bonsai, cooking, and collecting 19th century American paintings and Chinese artifacts. Upon retirement, John and Mary moved to Cambridge, MA and John began extensive research into the Fitch family history and genealogy, authoring many books on the English and American ancestors of the family. John and Mary continued traveling the world well into their 90's and have volunteered for and made contributions throughout their lives to diverse charities. They recently moved to a senior living facility in Brighton MA at which they have been warmly welcomed – forging new and meaningful friendships.
John is survived by his wife of 75 years, his brother, and six grown children. He lived to enjoy two more generations with six grandchildren and six great grandchildren. He was supportive of his wife's career as an elementary school teacher and a loving father who helped support the education of all his descendants and inquired with interest about their work and hobbies.
John's children cherish the audio recordings and science reporter film clips, in which their father's resonant voice moved seamlessly from serious interview questioning to chuckling camaraderie with jazz greats and scientists. They recall their father as quick to tear up with sentiment at family reunions and his willingness to change with the times – learning in his 80s to show his affection with warm hugs. Before he died, John said he had done everything in life that he wanted to do, except live to 100.
John's ashes will be laid to rest in the Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA.
Here is a link to an article about his jazz career: https://www.troystreet.com/2013/04/07/on-april-7-1926/
And for more about his MIT Science Reporter series see http://museum.mit.edu/150/34
and this link to just one of the many Apollo Mission related broadcasts he reported https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl8t-sUFuVM
You can get more information about John McLellan's life from his autobiography "What, When & Where" by John Townsend Fitch https://www.amazon.com/What-When-Where-Autobiography-Townsend/dp/1479286761
Note: The names of survivors have been removed out of respect for their privacy and in compliance with Find A Grave guidelines.
John Townsend Fitch
APRIL 7, 1926 – NOVEMBER 28, 2020
John Townsend Fitch died on November 28, 2020 at the age of 94 at his home in Boston, Massachusetts.
John was born to missionary parents George Ashmore Fitch and Geraldine Townsend Fitch on April 7, 1926 in Shanghai, China. He departed for the US in 1937, as the Japanese troops neared Nanking, and there attended schools in Pasadena, CA, Wooster, OH, Cambridge, MA, and Lake Placid, NY.
John met his loving wife, Mary Elizabeth Hall, in the summer of 1942 at Silver Bay YMCA Conference Center, on Lake George, New York. John worked in the kitchen and Mary was a waitress in the children's dining room.
After beginning college at M.I.T. in 1943, John joined the World War II effort by enlisting in the Navy where he served as an electronics technician with training in California. Mary joined him there in 1945 to be married shortly before he shipped out to the South Pacific and they were subsequently separated for nearly 3 years. By happenstance, when the war ended his ship docked in the closest harbor, Shanghai, the city of his birth, where he was greeted by his father, who had himself helped in the security of the Nanking Safety Zone during the Japanese invasion.
John got his first taste of radio broadcasting at an Armed Forces Radio Station there and went on to build and operate a similar station in Nanking. After completing her education at Colby College, Mary was able to join him for a year in China, however they had to leave on short notice when communist forces advanced on Nanking. John was pictured in LIFE Magazine in 1948, as the U.S. Military Advisory Group was packing up to leave.
Arriving in the U.S. shortly after the birth of their first child, John completed his electrical engineering degree at M.I.T. and together with Mary moved their growing family to the Conantum Community in Concord, MA, where they raised six children in a home amidst tall pines and the azaleas they planted, .
While attending MIT, John had begun working as a radio and television announcer in Boston. Utilizing the radio name John McLellan, he had a 10-year career as a host of jazz programs, including The Top Shelf and Live from Storyville. He also wrote a weekly column, The Jazz Scene, for the Boston Traveler newspaper. In 1955 he produced "Living History of Jazz", played to 16,000 in Boston Public Garden and the following year was Master of Ceremonies at the first Newport Jazz Festival. In 1958, John broadcast the first Jazz Scene show on WHDH-TV's Dateline Boston. Still later, he became the on-camera host for the 6-year run of the "M.I.T. Science Reporter" series on public television.
John then served for thirteen years on the staff of M.I.T. directing technology-based education and marketing, before becoming Executive Director of the Association for Media-based Continuing Education for Engineers, a post he held until retirement in 1987. He is the author of several papers on continuing education. On the side, John and his chemist brother Robert McLellan Fitch, produced numerous educational science films for distribution by their own family business, Kalmia Company.
In addition to his diverse careers, John engaged in many hobbies: camping and hiking with his young family, sailing, traveling, bonsai, cooking, and collecting 19th century American paintings and Chinese artifacts. Upon retirement, John and Mary moved to Cambridge, MA and John began extensive research into the Fitch family history and genealogy, authoring many books on the English and American ancestors of the family. John and Mary continued traveling the world well into their 90's and have volunteered for and made contributions throughout their lives to diverse charities. They recently moved to a senior living facility in Brighton MA at which they have been warmly welcomed – forging new and meaningful friendships.
John is survived by his wife of 75 years, his brother, and six grown children. He lived to enjoy two more generations with six grandchildren and six great grandchildren. He was supportive of his wife's career as an elementary school teacher and a loving father who helped support the education of all his descendants and inquired with interest about their work and hobbies.
John's children cherish the audio recordings and science reporter film clips, in which their father's resonant voice moved seamlessly from serious interview questioning to chuckling camaraderie with jazz greats and scientists. They recall their father as quick to tear up with sentiment at family reunions and his willingness to change with the times – learning in his 80s to show his affection with warm hugs. Before he died, John said he had done everything in life that he wanted to do, except live to 100.
John's ashes will be laid to rest in the Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA.
Here is a link to an article about his jazz career: https://www.troystreet.com/2013/04/07/on-april-7-1926/
And for more about his MIT Science Reporter series see http://museum.mit.edu/150/34
and this link to just one of the many Apollo Mission related broadcasts he reported https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl8t-sUFuVM
You can get more information about John McLellan's life from his autobiography "What, When & Where" by John Townsend Fitch https://www.amazon.com/What-When-Where-Autobiography-Townsend/dp/1479286761
Note: The names of survivors have been removed out of respect for their privacy and in compliance with Find A Grave guidelines.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
