Dr. John Groome McCullough, II
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John's obituary
John Groome McCullough II was born on 20 July 1936 in Oak Park, IL. He spent the majority of his childhood residing with his family in Williamsport, PA, though he and his family lived on Guam for a year or so after World War II when his father, Major Hiram McCullough, was stationed there.
John did his undergraduate studies at Cornell University, and did his post-graduate studies at Columbia University and Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute (now part of NYU). He met his wife, Baila McCullough née Uriash, in New York, and they were married in 1964. They resided in Manhattan until a year after their only child, Mia McCullough, was born.
After earning his PhD, John taught Chemistry for three years at Grand Valley State University in Michigan before moving back to New York with the family and taking a job as a lab chemist with Union Carbide. He spent most of his career at Union Carbide. After retiring from there, he did some consulting and started his own company, Proton Technologies.
A fan of early music, ethnic food, and ancient art, John and Baila spent much of their free time at concerts, in museums, and dining at various ethnic restaurants in New York City and environs. John did a bit of cycling in Westchester, but when he discovered hiking in Harriman State Park in his 40s, he diverted much of his free time to that. A member of the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Adirondack Mountain Club, and the Thendara Mountain Club, John hiked, snowshoed, skied, and paddled thousands of miles.
A lover of both flora and fauna, John would never pass up an opportunity to pet a dog or stop and smell the roses...or any other flower he happened upon. He always carried gardening shears and would bring back flowers for his wife after his trips. He once stole an ice bucket from a hotel in the Southwest so he could dig up a desert flower and transport it home for Baila to see.
In 2009, John and Baila McCullough relocated to Evanston, IL to be closer to their daughter, playwright Mia McCullough, their son-in-law, John Mooney, and their only grandchild, Tim Mooney. John McCullough was the son of Mary Jane (née Mundy) and Hiram McCullough. He is survived by his sister and brother-in-law, Anne and John Pettit, his daughter, son-in-law, and grandson; his step-brothers John and Paul Gervais and their spouses, Jane and Glynne Gervais; his step brother-in-law Robert Trezevant, as well as nieces Jenny Van West, Jennifer Trower, Anne McDermott, Sue Trezevant, Danielle Sodani, Michelle Gervais, Adrienne Gervais, and nephews John W. Pettit, David Trower, David Jarvis, Paul Gervais, Lewis Gervais, Warren Trezevant, and all their children.
John is predeceased by his wife, Baila McCullough, his cousins Cathy and Jeanne Jarvis, his step-sister Katherine Trezevant, and his stepmother Helena Gervais McCullough. John passed away at the home of his daughter on 4 January 2022 after a brief illness. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Thendara Mountain Club. https://www.thendaramountainc…
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