John Christian

John Peter Christian, age 81, died peacefully on November 15, 2023, in Hamilton, NJ. He was born on December 22, 1941, the son of Catherine (Griffin) and George Christian in Brattleboro, Vermont, which remained his favorite place in life.

He was the husband of the late Alice May Christian, who preceded him in death in 2021 after 37 years of marriage.

He graduated from Amherst Regional High School in 1959, and Holyoke Junior College in 1961 with an associate degree in engineering. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1961 and was stationed in England, specializing in Marconi microwave equipment. He often told his family, cryptically, that he fought the Cold War. After his honorable discharge in 1965, he went to work for Dow Jones in telecommunications where he proudly spent 36 years mostly in the South Brunswick, New Jersey office before retiring in 2001.

He was a talented woodworker who crafted beautiful furniture from the basement woodshop of his Titusville, New Jersey home where he lived for 51 years. He patiently built model ships, solved 1000-piece puzzles, and read four newspapers a day always starting with his beloved Wall Street Journal. He was a true Vermont Yankee, embracing frugality and self-sufficiency. He spent much of his retirement in St. Croix, where he loved playing afternoon cards with Alice overlooking the ocean.

He leaves behind two daughters and their husbands, Paula and AJ Murphy of Cincinnati, OH, and Linda and Jeffrey Dow of N. Branford, CT, as well as two stepdaughters, Linda Shaff and her husband, Artie, of Keedysville, MD, and Lisa Brink of Rahway, NJ. He also leaves behind grandchildren, James and Peter Gerdsen, Catherine and Gavin Dow; as well as Kevin Pridham and Tyler Shaff.

He is survived by his brother and his wife, James and Judith Christian of Agawam, MA, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A memorial service will be Wednesday (12/20) at 10:30am at Ker Phaneuf Funeral Home, 57 High St., Brattleboro, VT, followed by a lunch for family members. Interment will be at St. Michael’s Cemetery.