John R. Hupper ’50 died on November 24, 2016, in New York, New York.

(The following notice was shared by President Rose on November 29, 2016)

The College has just learned of the death of Trustee Emeritus John R. Hupper of the Class of 1950. John passed away on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2016, in New York City at the age of 91. He was a loyal and engaged alumnus, and for twenty-five years was a member of the Governing Boards at the College.

The eldest son of Roscoe H. Hupper of the Class of 1907 and Dorothy H. Hupper, Jack was born on June 16, 1925, in New York City, and he treasured and maintained his family’s roots in Tenants Harbor, Maine, throughout his life. He attended the Allen-Stevenson School in New York and graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1943. He served in the US Army from 1943 to 1946, before entering Bowdoin as a member of the Class of 1950. He was a member of the Student Council, the Debating Club, the Glee Club, and Zeta Psi Fraternity. An outstanding student, Jack graduated in three years, summa cum laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He then enrolled at Harvard Law School, where he was an editor on the Harvard Law Review. He earned the degree of LLB cum laude in 1952.

Following his graduation from law school, Jack became an associate at the Manhattan law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, with which he was associated throughout his distinguished legal career. He became a partner in 1961 and retired in 1995. His legal practice was primarily involved with commercial, securities, antitrust, and professional liability litigations. Long active as a mediator and arbitrator, Jack served as a special master of the pre-hearing panel of the New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, First Department, and as a member of that Court’s Committee on Character and Fitness, et al. He remained active as a mediator and arbitrator in his retirement. Jack served as a trustee of the Allen-Stevenson School and as a director of the Legal Aid Society of New York and the Traveler’s Aid Society of New York.

Bowdoin was a major beneficiary of Jack’s commitment to education. He was elected to the Board of Overseers at Bowdoin in 1970 and to the Board of Trustees in 1982; he was chair of the Student Affairs Committee of the Governing Boards from 1986 to 1989. As a member of Bowdoin’s Study Committee on Underclass Campus Environment from 1967-69, he coauthored its 1969 report, which led to the 1970 decision by the Governing Boards in favor of coeducation. Jack also was president of the Bowdoin Club of New York, a permanent member of the Committee on Deferred Giving, and a BASIC volunteer.

His devotion to his family was well chronicled through his earnest pursuit of photography. He is survived by his wife of sixty-four years, Joyce McC. Hupper; three children, John R. Hupper, Jr. (Cynthia M. Whitman ’77), Gail J. Hupper (William H. Wood), and Craig W. Hupper ’83 (Susan Rose Hupper); four granddaughters; and a brother, Roger W. Hupper ’50. He was predeceased by his brother Joel H. Hupper ’54. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

We extend to Jack’s family, his colleagues, and his friends our deepest sympathies, and we are ever-mindful of the many ways in which the Bowdoin community has been touched by his remarkable life and spirit.

Sincerely,

Clayton