John Doran Buppert

John Buppert lived in Maryland for 70 years, and even though he moved to Lititz, Pennsylvania, near the end of his life, his heart was always here. He was born in Baltimore in 1934 and lived with his parents, Helen and Doran Buppert, and his grandfather on West Fayette Street. As a boy, he rode the streetcar all over the city and could remember Sherman tanks rolling by bound for the harbor and then Europe. John went to St. Martin Academy and from there to Loyola High School.

Before his senior year at Loyola, the family moved to a farm near Marriottsville, Maryland. John continued at Loyola, riding to school with his father who worked at Bethlehem Steel and hitchhiking home every night. John graduated from Loyola High School in 1952 and then Loyola College four years later. After college, he worked at the Bethlehem Steel shipyard before being drafted into the U.S. Army. John used his Army salary to buy the family a new Volkswagen Beetle. He was honorably discharged after two years and then returned home to Marriottsville.

In 1964, John accepted a position at The John Carroll School in Bel Air where he taught biology, marine biology, and aquatic biology for the next 35 years. At different times, he worked with the student government; managed the greenhouse; ran the darkroom; moderated the Natural History Club; took students caving; and kept fish, snakes, turtles, and tarantulas in his lab. John felt a deep sense of commitment to the school and its mission, and in return, he was a beloved teacher to four decades of students. In 1999, John retired after suffering a disabling stroke. But John Carroll was never far from his mind. He often dreamt that he was giving a lecture on photosynthesis in his old classroom.

John is survived by his wife of forty-four years, Kathleen Barnett Buppert; son, Gregory Doran Buppert (Sydney) of Charlottesville, Virginia; daughters, Nora Buppert Martin (Michael) of Manheim, Pennsylvania, and Theresa Buppert Foy (David) of Washington, D.C.; sister, Blair Buppert Reid of Marriottsville, Maryland; brothers, Frank J. and Joseph D. Buppert, both of Marriottsville, Maryland; grandchildren, Gillian, Bridget, Hayes, and Emory; and many nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his sister, Anne M. Buppert.