John M. SESSIONS

SESSIONS - John M.
July 8, 2019 of pancreatic cancer while under hospice care in Greenville, Maine. He was 75. Born in Rochester, NY to Millard and Elinor Sessions, he grew up in East Aurora. He was a 1962 graduate of the Nichols School in Buffalo. After completing a bachelor's degree at Amherst College, he earned a Ph.D. in French Literature at the University of Rochester, where his research focused on nineteenth-century French theater. He taught at Eisenhower College in Seneca Falls and then joined the Nichols School faculty in 1974. He taught French language and literature before returning to school to pursue an M.A. in History at the University of Buffalo, writing a thesis about a noted seventeenth-century French religious dissident and writer. The last years of his career were devoted to teaching European history and art history, but he remained a champion of foreign languages and international student exchange programs, which he had helped to pioneer at Nichols. Dr. Sessions was a loving father and grandfather, as well as a lifelong traveler, accomplished photographer, avid canoeist and outdoorsman, and much-beleaguered fan of Buffalo sports teams and the Boston Red Sox. He is survived by his beloved wife of fifty-three years, Ann, his sister Anne Sessions Barber, his daughters Jennifer Sessions and Catherine Kersey, his son-in-law, Christopher Kersey, grandchildren, Ryan and Elinor Kersey, and granddog Hannah. A celebration of life will be held in Buffalo in the fall. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Charles A. Dean Memorial Hospital Foundation (Charles A. Dean Memorial Hospital, PO Box 601, Greenville, ME 04441-0601, northernlighthealth.org/Locations/Foundation/Donation-Opportunities/CA-Dean-Foundation-Donation) or the Nichols School to support student scholarships (Development Office, Nichols School, 1250 Amherst Street, Buffalo, NY 14216, www.nicholsschool.org/giving).