John Walter Searight was born in 1938 in New Kensington, PA. His early life was shaped in important ways by the Boy Scouts, and learning about the world of nature, especially birds, through at a nature camp. Becoming an Eagle Scout and hiking the southern portion of the Appalachian Trail were highlights of his youth. He attended Yale University, majoring in philosophy, and graduated in 1960. The week after graduation, he married Elizabeth (Betsy) Heim, and moved to Philadelphia where Betsy was finishing graduate school and John had accepted a position at Bell Telephone. When the Berlin Wall was built in 1961, John was drafted and served two years in Orleans, France, in the Army Corps of Engineers.
Upon his discharge, John earned a master’s degree of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Pennsylvania. John worked for the Philadelphia Society to Protect Children for four years before joining the faculty at the Temple University Social of Social Administration. In 1973, John and his family moved to South Jersey to accept a faculty position at the recently founded (1971) Stockton State College, where he helped develop and obtain accreditation for an undergraduate (BSW) social work program. John became a Stockton “lifer” and served the college/university in many roles, including professor, teacher’s union president, chair of the Task Force on Health Services, and Chair and then Dean of the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences from 1985 to 1992.
Upon resigning as Dean, John co-founded a groundbreaking program designed to recruit more professional social workers into the state’s child welfare system. Social work students in all participating NJ colleges could apply, and if accepted, they received a scholarship, and a field placement in the child protection agency in exchange for a commitment to work at the agency for a limited time. He helped develop a similar program for Department of Children and Family (DCF) Supervisors to enable them to earn a master’s degree (MSW) in social work. John continued supporting these programs in various roles through 2024.
John was an avid bird watcher and loved listening to jazz. He enjoyed nature travel, canoeing and camping, and was a regular visitor to Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. John was also active participant and founding member the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South Jersey Shore, leading three highly successful capital campaigns that made possible the construction of a church building in Galloway Township.
John was a devoted father and grandfather and was beloved by his children and grandchildren. He is predeceased by his parents, John Walter Searight and Margaret Cochran Searight; and his sister, Sally Searight. He is survived by his wife, Betsy; and three children, John Stuart Searight (Karen), Amy Elizabeth Searight, and Gregory Kenneth Searight (Luannda); and by six grandchildren, John Walter (Abby), Brian James, Karla Marie, Jacquiline (Jacqui), Rochelle (Brandon), and Aaron Jamal; and two great- grandchildren, Braylon Aiyuk and John Franklin Searight.
A Celebration of Life service was be held on Tuesday, May 6, at the Unitarian Universalist Center in Pomona.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to New Jersey Audubon, 9 Hardscrabble Rd, Bernardsville NJ, 07924, or to Sister Jean’s Kitchen, PO Box 5146, Atlantic City, NJ 08404.