John Ricks Priest, 83, passed away on Saturday, May 14th, after a valiant struggle with kidney disease. John is survived by his wife Joan of West Grove, PA; his son John and wife Mary of St. Augustine, FL; and his daughter Miriam and husband Jerry of Wilmington, DE.
John was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. He excelled in math and science, played clarinet in the band at Central High School, and was an Eagle Scout. John was a National Merit Scholar and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a full scholarship. He was on the MIT squash team and played squash and racquetball for many years. After graduation he married his high school sweetheart, Joan Warren, and went to work as a chemical engineer for DuPont in Memphis.
John pursued graduate courses at Memphis State University, and he served six years in the Tennessee National Guard. He was a member of the pistol team and was a crack shot. He attained the rank of First Lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps of the US Army after serving as a dental assistant at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX.
During his career with DuPont, John worked in the Electrochemical Dept. and was transferred to Orange, Texas, where he enjoyed exploring the environment, playing duplicate bridge with Joan, and fishing with his pals from the plant. He enrolled in graduate courses at Lamar University in Beaumont, TX, and earned a Masters of Mathematics degree from Memphis University. John was transferred to Wilmington, DE, where he worked in fire safety, wire & cable, and financial analysis.
John loved early Renaissance music and played recorders in the Philadelphia Recorder Society, organizing guest musicians and teachers. He served as a board member of Piffaro (the Renaissance Wind Band) and also founded the Delaware Recorder Society.
He and his wife Joan built a contemporary house in the woods near Kennett Square, PA. They enjoyed camping with their children and visited many national parks in the US and Canada. They enjoyed summer weeks at the Star Island Conference Center in NH and adventurous vacations in Paris, France, and Cozumel, Mexico, with Joan’s sister Judith and her husband Ron. Together they barged rivers in France and snorkeled in the Virgin Islands and Honduras.
John belonged to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Wilmington where he sang in the choir for many years. A memorial service will be held at a later date, and contributions may be directed to the church.
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