My condolences and best wishes to John's entire family. What a great loss to the entire Dudley Family with the sad news of John's passing.

John was a great man, person, and, my friend.

Gerrit White

#8032

Jennifer, so sorry to know. A great guy, indeed.

/s/ Bill Buck

I am deeply hurt that John has passed. Spoke with him just a couple of weeks ago.

Please accept my deepest sympathy.  Pete Gabrielson

John you were such a great man and person! I am honored to have met you and shared stories and information while I was at Williams! God Speed and thank you for your support!!!

Coach Kelton

Sending love and light to you all. What an amazing tribute to clearly a very special and one of a kind man. Shine on. 

Wendy & Tom McCarthy

John and Martha (along with the rest of Team Storey/Dils/Gillis) always made our family feel like a part of theirs, a gift we can never fully repay.  We will miss our friend at the end of the Dudley Road very much, and we will treasure our memories of time spent with him and his beautiful family. 

With respect and admiration for John's exemplary lifetime of love, leadership, and service,

Mike #15288 & Julie #21288

Hmm.  one additional word needs to be added to last line of first paragraph of the obit that categorizes those who knew and respected M. John, that is "opponents".  I was in that last category in those mid 1950's years at Dudley.  My first memory of John was that I couldnt believe someone could throw a baseball by, past, through my bat, but he did.  

Respect is the word that first comes to mind when I think of John,  no matter where, how, what you were doing,  John had an interest.  He was and will remain an inspirational leader, coaxing the best out of each person with whom he came in contact.  And in Martha, what a perfect partner.   John will be missed, but, his teachings, lessons, his examples-stories will live on for all of us who had the privilege to know him. 

Bill Vanneman Jr

#8674

In my first semester at St. Lawrence I took a public speaking class and found it pretty awesome. One of the speeches that was assigned was a Praise Speech. The task was to praise a person or a thing that you most admired or appreciated. The topic seemed pretty obvious. Talk about ole Babo. I'm sure there are some grammar and spelling errors, but that was a few years ago.  Here is the speech.

Hello everyone, my name is Carter Storey, and I have the most incredible grandfather in the entire world. A little bit of a controversial statement, I know, as I'm sure that many of you feel a similar way about your grandfather. They love, teach, carry on tradition, and tell stories like no one else. They are truly a gift and a light in all of our lives, and as I grow up, I learn more and more about what is important in life from him. I know that we all don’t necessarily get a chance to meet our grandparents, but those lucky enough to do so understand just how special they can be. As I mentioned, I’m sure that your papa, grandpa, abuelo, pops or grampy are all amazing, but my Babo aka John Storey, now he... he’s the world's best grandfather!

Let me tell you a little bit about what makes my Babo, just so special. Born in Summit, New Jersey, October 16th 1943, Babo lived his whole childhood in a nearby town called Chatham. There, as a 13-year-old boy, he met Martha, the girl of his dreams. Little did he know that he would go on to spend every day of the rest of his life with the love of his life. From middle school dances, to high school prom, to their first house, to their wedding day, to three children, and on to their 50th anniversary. Now in their late seventies, they view each day that they spend together as a gift. The love they share is unlike any other that I have witnessed in my time on this earth. The loyalty and support that my grandfather has for my grandmother is one of the things I most respect about him.

When Babo turned 16, he got his first ever job as a leader at Camp Dudley in Westport, New York, serving 10/14-year-old boys teaching them how to grow into strong young men. This first job was nothing short of a blessing seeing that Dudley would continue to be a part of his life, every summer for the next 62 years. He rose in the ranks from leader to staff, board member, to chair of the board, and now serves as the greatest mentor to my Dad, his son, who is currently the Director at Camp Dudley. The reason Dudley played such an instrumental role in his life was due to the mindset and the motto of the establishment, “The Other Fellow First.” After a lifetime of service to the Dudley community, Babo received the highest Dudley honor, the “Man of the Year'' award in the year 2000. The award read, “John Storey has served the institution at every turn. In doing so, John has enabled Camp Dudley to better fulfill its mission. For his dedication, deep concern for others, and his commitment to the camp motto, The Other Fellow First, we are proud to name John Storey, Camp Dudley Association Man of the Year.” The dedication and generosity that Babo has shown towards Camp Dudley is just another reason why I idolize him and the man that he is.

After working at Dudley, Babo attended Williams College where he found a love for writing, people, and business. He also played basketball and soccer in college and was the captain of his soccer team his Senior year. His experiences at Williams led him to travel with his newly wedded wife, Martha, to Bologna, Italy, where he went to grad school for a year. After a few years working with multinational corporations, he transitioned to a new stage in life where he approached work with a more entrepreneurial mindset. He managed to purchase the publishing branch of the company that he was working for at the time called Garden Way, Inc. In 1983, and turned it into his own, Storey Communications, now Storey Publishing. He and my grandmother were partners in this project and took a struggling business and turned it into one of the top small publishing companies in the country today. After selling Storey Publishing in 2001, Babo took on a new project. He started a company called Berkshire Direct, a small marketing company based in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Apart from being a savvy businessman and entrepreneur Babo cherished the people and experiences that he encountered. He met and impacted so many people during his career that he still is in contact with to this day, and his network is second to none.

More than anything else, beyond Work or Dudley or even his Williams College Ephs, Babo is a family man. He raised three amazing children, Jess, Jenn, and Matt, who have a combined ten children. He made every effort to attend as many sporting events, concerts, plays, graduations, and birthday parties as physically possible. His devotion to loved ones is contagious and is part of what makes him so special to me. His house in Westport, New York, serves as a “home” to everyone he knows and loves, and there is always an extra seat at the table for visitors. He also takes great pride in the fact that he can support each and every one of his children and grandchildren in a unique way. Whether it be academic tricks, social cues, athletic tips, or career advice, he has something to offer in every situation that my family or I find ourselves in. His thorough well-roundedness is something that I greatly appreciate and hope to replicate someday in my own life.

Babo now, sitting in his beautiful home, with a crossword puzzle in hand, cup of decaf, listening to quiet classical music in the background, seated next to the love of his life, is a simple man. He live streams his grandchildren's sporting events, reads everything and anything he can get his hands on, sends highly anticipated family emails that get everyone thinking about being together again, and gives of himself in any way possible each and every day. Babo used to say, “I always try to do my best with honor but not for honor.” I hope that someday I can fulfill this motto and be a person who is other-centered similarly to the way my grandfather is. To conclude, I’d like you all to think about a person in your life that you have the highest regard and respect for. I want you to do something for me. Reach out to this person. Reach out, and then continue to reach out. Soak up all the knowledge and life lessons and stories that you can. People like this don’t come around that often, so when they do, be sure to take advantage of your time with them. As I racked my brain for things to praise during this speech, the most obvious thought occurred, praise the person that you respect most in this world, and for me, that is John Storey, also known as Babo. 

Love you all

I wrote this to John, via Martha, several days before he left us: "...Love is something that John has shared with others aplenty.  Of course that is returned by his universe of family and friends. I am not a religious man, but do have my own version of prayers and hopes.  These go out to John and you and his other loved ones. It's a helluva journey, this life of ours; how it is lived is, I think, what counts the most.  John has been an exemplar of goodness, standing out for us all."  And in an earlier email to John, I wrote: "You've helped make this world a better, happier, more honest place.   You've stood up for integrity and the good...Thoreau told us years ago 'to affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of the arts,' and you're the artist. Thank you for all that." Go well, John.

Peter Stevens

Williams and DU, 1965

Babo- family creator, lover, and leader - who, with Mommom, spread love felt here in St. Louis. I am blessed by his life and by his family.

 And now, Babo, these words ring in my head for you: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord will award to me. 2 Timothy 4:7-8

Tell Charlie hi for me! ❤️

I gave my first Camp Dudley chapel talk in 2013, and naturally I chose to speak about the person who brought Dudley into my life and who lived by its motto every day of his. I thought often about this talk over the past month, but I held off on re-reading it until he passed yesterday. It is as I remember it: a celebration of Babo's ability to teach us lessons we'll remember forever and inspire us to live by them.  We love you Babo. We'll miss you so much, but we won't stop sharing your stories. 

July 8, 2013

Good morning Camp Dudley. My name is Tom Dils, and I want to tell you a story about a barn. I want to tell you a story about a barn, and a skinny eight-year-old with short red hair, and boxes of books, and cousins, and three dogs, and free lemonade, and one glorious June morning ten summers ago when a freshly painted sign was mounted high on the side of the barn, and how an OPEN flag fluttered in the warm breeze coming off the lake, and how Grey Barn Books came to be. But mostly, I want to tell you a story about the man who made all of this possible.

The story begins like this. I graduated from third grade ready... to enter the work force. And, I already had a job. Babo, my grandfather, whose real name is John Storey, had approached me and my cousins about opening a bookstore. Not any bookstore, but a bookstore that would live in the big grey barn on Camp Dudley Road. And I was to be a general manager. As we made the trip north from Williamstown to Westport that summer, like we had every summer before, there were more than a few extra boxes to squeeze into our vehicles. These boxes were filled with Babo’s books.

Our bookstore was to be called Grey Barn Books, and in every way it was a family project. I think I could spot at least ten of you here this morning who helped in the barn in some way. We cleaned, organized, and sorted, and finally we were ready. But before we opened the barn doors or raised the OPEN flag, before we brought out the pitcher of lemonade or the tin of warm blueberry muffins, Babo sat down with my cousins and me.

“So, what do you guys know about customer service?” he asked us. “And what will we say to the people who come into our store?” I sat silent with my cousins, not knowing the correct answers to these questions. Finally Babo gave us his words of wisdom: “When you meet someone new, say ‘Hi, where ya from?’”

“Where ya from?” Those words were simple enough for our gang of Storey grandchildren, yet they came to embody everything that was fun for me about our bookstore. I was filled with a sense of excitement and purpose each time a new customer arrived, especially if their license plate was something other than New York. We hung a map up on the wall to chart our visitors, and our state tally grew and grew.

Thanks to Babo, I learned from an early age to appreciate people for who they are and to celebrate different backgrounds. At this time, Babo was still the Camp Dudley Director of Development, and I was proud to have a grandfather who was such an ambassador for this camp, connecting Dudleyites all over the world and building relationships to last a lifetime.

So fast-forward to this year. Babo is now retired, I am a lot older than eight, and I’ve had the great fortune of spending nine straight summers at Camp Dudley. This past year was very different for me, however. Instead of going straight from high school into my freshman year at Middlebury, I decided upon a gap year. In the fall, I lived in Germany and spent my time playing soccer, teaching, and traveling. I returned home and devoted six weeks to a big road trip, visiting Dudley friends and family members all along the East Coast. And then I worked this spring, because travel is far from free.

Along the way, the lessons that I learned from Babo remained with me. I was never too shy to ask “Where ya from?”—even if was in a language that I hardly spoke or understood—and I was proud to tell others I met about myself. Babo helped me in so many ways this year, but it was his personal network from which I benefited most. I’ve never known anyone who is more connected. Babo seemed to have a friend in every European country and in every city here in the States. Without out Babo, I never would’ve met Blake Little—a former leader who showed me around his home city of Stuttgart and took me to my first Bundesliga match. And without Babo, I never would’ve detoured to Seabrook Island in South Carolina to spend a wonderful day with Rich and Page Maxwell and hear their Dudley stories. Babo helped me to meet so many unique, caring people—and almost all of them were Dudleyites.

So what do I want you guys to take from this? First off, if and when you see Mr. Storey walking around campus—and he’s usually up by the main office or in the back rows at chapel—feel free to say a big hello. You won’t meet anyone who loves Camp Dudley more than he, and he will love to learn your name and where you are from. Secondly, as we press on past the halfway point of this first session, I want to remind you that you are all ambassadors for Camp Dudley. You do your part by living the motto every day, but for many of you, there are only two weeks left here on Lake Champlain. I encourage you to make connections with fellow Dudleyites—because this is how the Dudley spirit lives. It’s alive here at camp and it’s alive all over the world, and it’s never been more alive than it is right now.

Let us pray: Dear God, thank you for friends old and new, and thank you for this heaven on earth that we call Camp Dudley, which allows us to make connections that will last forever. Thank you for our health and happiness, please bless this food to our use and us to thy service. Amen."