Born: December 26, 1940
Died: October 10, 2020
John William Blouch was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, son of John Harry and Mable Alvey Blouch. He graduated from Wiley High School in Terre Haute.
At Yale, John was a resident of Branford College and was in Yale’s NROTC program, rising to the rank of Battalion Commander. He was in the Political Union and the Young Republicans, where he served as secretary treasurer 1961-1962. John was also on the board of Ivy Magazine.
After graduation John reported for duty in the Navy and served on active duty 1962-1966. John was stationed on the Newport based destroyer USS Brownson which participated in the Cuban Blockade in 1962. During his final year of service, he served on a communications ship off the Vietnam Coast. Following his release from active duty John studied law at George Washington University and was an associate editor of the GW Law Review. He was awarded his J.D. degree in 1969.
John developed a specialization in annuities in his law practice over the years. His firm of Jones & Blouch was well known for leadership in this field. John retired in 2013 after a few years as counsel to several D.C. firms.
John married Sarah Dewey, nicknamed Sally, in 1963, in a wedding in Worcester, Mass., capped by a lively reception celebrated by a number of Yalies, including Tom Chapman, Tom Williamson, Bob Tate, Ed Worthy and Klaas Van Esselstyn. Sally attended Vassar and obtained her degree from Wheelock College.
John and Sally had three children, all of whom survive him. John D. Blouch, the eldest, graduated from Yale in 1995 and earned his Ph.D. at Princeton. He now operates a restoration and construction consulting business in the Albany, NY area. Susannah Blouch graduated from Colgate and is a teacher living in Fairfax, Virginia. Their youngest child James is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Emory Law School. He is now an analyst with the Department of Homeland Security. John and Sally have three grandchildren, Joren Santana, Lucien Santana and John K. Blouch. He was also survived by his sister Catherine Casto of Colorado.
Sally reported that John had many interests, including running and life-long learning. He was always reading and writing, she said. He was most recently studying both Ancient Greek and modern Chinese while also continuing to take Smithsonian courses as he had throughout his life.
John was diagnosed with lung cancer in November 2019. He died at his home in Fairfax, VA on October 10, 2020. Arrangements are being made for interment at Arlington National Cemetery at a future date. In lieu of flowers the family asked that memorial donations be made to Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), a charity which can be reached at www.seo-usa.org. This charity provides scholarships for needy students which furthers John’s deeply held interest in education.
Classmate Ed Worthy, a roommate at Yale, wrote in memory of John: “John was kind and thoughtful, and when he spoke, I learned to listen. His sense of humor was sly, but never hurtful.”
John’s assistant for more than 30 years, John Beattie, contributed these words: “It was an honor to work alongside John for more than 30 years. He was one of the finest men I have ever known. … He was a true renaissance man who always amazed at the range of his intellect and his ability to become expert in something in short order. He was very caring and protective of those he worked with and I take that with me every day. The Jesuit motto is ‘A Man for Others’ and John was a living example of that. God Bless You, My Friend.”
— R. G. Oliver