Mason, John Grove
John Grove Mason, 76, of Blacksburg, passed away Wednesday March 29, 2006 at Montgomery Regional Hospital, surrounded by his family. Born in Louisville, KY on December 4, 1929, he was the son of John and Mary Louise Mason and the youngest of three children.
He was educated in public schools in and around Louisville and Frankfurt, Kentucky and Kansas City, Missouri, graduating from Alex G. Barrett Junior High School in 1943 and Louisville Male High School in 1946, both in Louisville, KY.
He attended the University of Louisville from 1946-1950 where he received his BS degree in Chemistry. He belonged to the Woodcock Society, an honorary society. From there he went to Ohio State University, receiving his PhD in Analytical Chemistry in 1955. While at OSU, he became a member of Gamma Alpha, a science social fraternity.
In October 1954, he was drafted into the Army, completing his basic training at Fort Knox, KY before transferring to Edgewood Arsenal, MD, in January 1955. Between his basic training and transfer to Maryland, he finished his PhD dissertation and defended it while on leave.
On August 6, 1955, after he was transferred to Baltimore, he met Elizabeth Kent Gayle on a blind date. It was such a successful date that they went out for 53 of the next 54 days, became engaged at Christmas and married in Baltimore on August 25, 1956. They were married 49+ years at the time of his death.
Three days prior to his wedding, he was discharged from the Army to accept employment at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, his first teaching position. In September 1959, he joined the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI), now known as Virginia Tech.
He began as an associate professor in the Chemistry Department, becoming full professor in 1966. In 1992, he retired after 33 years of service. During his career at Tech, in addition to his teaching and research responsibilities, he served as President of the Faculty Senate, served on University Council, served two terms each on the Promotion and Tenure Committees of the College of Arts and Sciences and the University, served two terms on the Graduate Commission, served on the Visiting Scholars Committee, College of Arts and Sciences, and on the Dean’s Advisory Committee for five years, plus many others.
For many years prior to retirement, he was the Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Chemistry. He was awarded the Alan F. Clifford Faculty Service Award on June 9, 1984 and with the award money he bought one of the first VCRs. In 1986 he became a charter member of the Academy of Faculty Service, an award in recognition of exceptional service in University governance given by faculty members for service beyond the usual responsibilities of their faculty appointments.
One of his more exciting academic adventures was during the summer of 1966 when he traveled to India with colleagues from Ohio State and taught chemistry at various universities. He belonged to the American Chemical Society, Sigma Xi, Phi Lambda Upsilon, and Alpha Chi Sigma.
Upon retirement, he joined his wife in the antique business and became an expert in rare and out-of-print books. He was a voracious reader, particularly of mystery novels and works of history of places such as Russia, the Middle East, and Ireland. He also read literary fiction and had read every classic novel worth reading. He had a lifelong love of classical and jazz music. From his childhood forward he was an avid moviegoer and watcher, especially with the advent of videos and DVDs, which enabled him to revisit old favorites while keeping up with current films.
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth G. (Bette) Mason; son and daughter-in-law Tom Mason and Yaela Gleusteen of Simi Valley, Calif., and their son Evan; daughter and son-in-law Gayle and Brent Stratton of Pennington, N.J. and their two children, Kent and Oliver; sister and brother-in-law Mary Jo and Richard Kingsbury of Kansas City, Mo., their children Rick and Cheryl and their families; sister Anne Ratterman of Mebane, N.C., her children Elizabeth and Patricia and their families; cousin June and her husband Sanford Jones of Richmond, Ky.; and cousin Katherine “Tootsie” Bohannan and her husband Granville.
The family will receive friends at the McCoy Funeral Home, 150 Country Club Drive, Blacksburg, Tuesday, April 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. Funeral services will be held at the Blacksburg United Methodist Church, 111 Church Street, Blacksburg, 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 5, 2006.
The family wishes to thank Dr. David Stoeckle and Dr. Harry McCoy and their office staffs for their love and support and excellent care during this long journey. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to several organizations to be announced in the future.
January 16, 2023 @ 4:33 pm
Dr. John G. Mason served as my major professor whilst I pursued a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from VA. Tech. He and I immediately hit it off while I was a 1st year graduate student in the Biochemistry Department mainly due to our love of mainstream jazz including Miles Davis, John Coltrane and others. I did NOT fit in well in that department, so I transferred to the Chemistry Department. I had to make up a few undergraduate courses, but I decided to pursue a Ph.D. degree. Electrochemistry had always fascinated me, and that was the area of expertise in Dr. Mason’s labs. He was very supportive as I dealt with a horrible divorce from an emotionally disturbed wife and supported me during my postdoc year. I lost track of Dr. Mason later on when I entered medical school. I remember him as a very intelligent person. In ways, he was difficult to really know. I always felt just a bit hurt as he never invited me over to his house. But, then again, that was the way of Dr. Mason. May he rest in peace wherever he is.