John (Pete) S Wishnok

John S. "Pete" Wishnok passed away peacefully at Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on Saturday, March 14, 2026, surrounded by his partner of forty years, Judith Chaffee; his daughter Nina Wishnok and her husband, Eddie DeAngelo, of Medford, Massachusetts; and by phone, his daughter Lisa Wishnok of Costa Rica.
Born October 10, 1938, in Titusville, Pennsylvania, Pete was the son of John Wishnok and Marjory Vroman Wishnok. He had two younger brothers, Joseph and Thomas, both now deceased, and a sister, Constance Phillips of Ormond Beach, Florida.
Pete graduated from Titusville High School in 1956 and from the College of Wooster in 1960. He began his career teaching chemistry and physics and coaching wrestling at the high school in Clarkston, Washington, where he spent three fulfilling years inspiring students.
He had two children with his first wife, his college best friend and sweetheart, Carol Blau, of New Rochelle, New York.
In the summer of 1963, Pete entered Brown University to pursue a Master of Arts in Teaching. Impressed by his abilities, the faculty encouraged him to remain for a doctoral degree in chemistry. His dissertation earned the 1968 Potter Prize for outstanding research. That recognition enabled him to continue his postdoctoral studies in organic chemistry with Paul Schleyer at Princeton University for two years. In the fall of 1970, he joined the chemistry faculty at Boston University, moving Carol and their two young daughters to Allston.
Carol passed away suddenly from a brain aneurysm in 1971. Pete married Susan Bloch in 1972 and they moved to Brookline, MA. He accepted a position at MIT that drew upon his expertise with mass spectrometers, and there he found an academic home perfectly matched to his skills, curiosity, and intellect. Pete and Susan divorced in 1978.
In 1974, Pete joined MIT's Department of Nutrition and Food Science and stayed with the Tannenbaum Lab as the department evolved into Biological Engineering. He retired in 2017 as Senior Research Scientist. His pioneering work spanned biological mass spectrometry, chemical carcinogenesis, molecular dosimetry, and nitric oxide biochemistry.
Pete helped shape the Biological Engineering doctoral program through the Bioengineering and Toxicology Seminar (BATS), which he led for more than thirty years. In 2015, the department established the BATS Wishnok Prize to honor his extraordinary dedication to graduate education.
Pete loved the arts—especially music, photography, and dance. As a young man he taught himself to play the banjo, guitar, and keyboard and later built his first Telecaster electric guitar in 2001. He lost his right leg to complications from bone cancer in 1985, and in 1986 his niece introduced him to Judith, a dancer, choreographer, and teacher at Boston University. The two discovered a shared passion for the arts, for cooking, travel, and the joys of love, family and friendship. In 1992, they bought a small house together on Plum Island in Newbury, Massachusetts, where they built a warm and lasting community of friends on the North Shore.
Pete was kind, gentle, funny, smart, talented, and thoughtfully patient—and also complex, humble, mysterious, and handsome. He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, former students and colleagues, and his devoted partner Judith.
There will be a Celebration of Pete's Life at the Arts at the Armory in Somerville, Massachusetts, Sunday, May 17th, 12:00-2pm