John Mason

81, of Falmouth, died December 1 in Boston following a long battle with brain cancer. He was born at home in Sanford, Maine on October 17, 1926, the son of Mason and Irene (Watson) Dutton. John graduated from Sanford High School in 1945. He graduated from Maine Maritime Academy in 1947, where he formed life-long friendships, and entered the Naval Reserve. He was a 1952 graduate of the University of New Hampshire Engineering School where he was elected a member of the honor society Tau Beta Pi. He went on active duty with the Navy during the Korean War as an officer stationed at the Adak Naval Station in the Aleutian Islands. There he directed vessels into and out of Kuluk Bay and the Bering Sea. After his duty was completed he returned to engineering work at Blue Rock Quarry in Westbrook and Metcalf Eddy in Boston, MA. He enrolled in Harvard Business School in 1955, graduated with an M.B.A. in 1957, and embarked on an academic career that culminated as professor of business administration. He stayed on at Harvard as a research associate and taught at Northeastern University. He taught at Purdue University Krannert School of Industrial Engineering in Lafayette, IN from 1960 to 1968. His research included organizational behavior, computer simulation of human behavior, history of business technology, progress-principal studies, and strategic changes in the energy industry. He was elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. He was the Lucas Visiting Professor at the University of Birmingham in England from 1963 to 1964. He went on to teach at Southern Methodist University Business School in Dallas, TX from 1968 to 1971. In 1971 he moved to Manhattan where he taught and was Associate Dean at New York University, Stern Graduate School of Business Administration retiring in 1998. While at NYU he helped develop and teach the executive M.B.A. programs in France and Japan. From childhood, John was an avid fly-fisherman and outdoorsman. As a teenager he became an Eagle Scout and waterfront supervisor. Kennebago Lake and its surroundings in western Maine, where as a boy his father and he first fished and hiked, sewed as a refuge throughout his life. He was a 32nd degree Mason, member of the Scottish Rite, Lodge Council Chapter Consistory, Valley of Portland and Preble Lodge, A.F. & A.M. No.143, Sanford. He was active on the Vestry of the Church of the Ascension in New York City. He attended St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Portland since 1998. A gifted pianist and composer, music was always important in John's life. He played in the band at the Maine Maritime Academy and formed his own music groups both at Maine Maritime and in the Navy, performing at such venues as the U.S. Embassy in Brazil. Survivors include his wife of 51 years, Shirley Reed Dutton of Falmouth, four children, Jane C. Dutton of Belmont, MA, William M. Dutton and Watson R. Dutton both of Jersey City, NJ, David S. Dutton, his wife Judith and their six children all of Hubbardston, MA, and his sister Elizabeth Dutton Sweet of Brookline, MA. A Requiem Eucharist and Burial Office will be celebrated on Friday December 14 at 11 AM at St. Peter's Episcopal Church at the corner of Washington and Alton Streets in Portland. Burial will be in the spring in Riverside Cemetery in Springvale. Arrangements are under the direction of the Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home, 580 Main Street, SPRINGVALE. Those planning an expression of sympathy are asked to consider the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, 165 Cambridge Street, Suite 600, Boston, MA 02114. Condolences may be expressed at www.blackfuneralhomes.com.