In Memoriam: Dr. John Mitchell McEwen

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Dr. John Mitchell McEwen, 94, was a long-time member of TAPPI and one of the association's longest serving members. He became active in TAPPI beginning in 1941, and served as its president in 1965 and 1966. He was honored as a TAPPI Fellow in 1968. Dr. McEwen played a role in the pulp and paper industry's major transformation that began prior to World War II and continues today with the technologically advanced processes, equipment, and systems used in modern mills and plants around the world.

Following graduation from Ohio State University with a degree in chemical engineering in 1939, Dr. McEwen served as an army reserve officer. He was called to duty before Pearl Harbor and served almost five years as lieutenant, captain, and major in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. After the war, he completed his Ph.D. in pulp and paper science at the Institute of Paper Chemistry in Appleton, Wis.

In 1947, Dr. McEwen joined Weyerhaeuser Co. and did technical work in the company's Pulp Division in Longview, Wash., and Everett, Wash. He later managed pulp and paper mills and served as area manager in both Everett and Springfield, Ore. He subsequently served as Weyerhaeuser International VP for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, while living in Brussels, Belgium. After returning to the U.S., he was named regional VP for Southwest Washington. After 30 years with Weyerhaeuser, he retired in 1977.

Dr. McEwen served on the boards of a number of non-profit organizations in Everett, Springfield, and Longview. After retirement, he helped start Community Home Health and Hospice in Longview and served as its president until he moved to Redmond, Wash., in 1992. He married his wife Isabel in 1942.

He is survived by daughters Irene McEwen and Marie McEwen of Redmond, and Judy Richardson of Scottsdale, Ariz. He is also survived by a granddaughter Marcy J. Harrington and her husband Ed of Seattle, Wash., and their daughters Madeline and Heidi.