JOHN R. "BUZZ" CAMPBELL

CAMPBELL, John R. "Buzz" Passed peacefully, on March 24, 2026, at his North Hill Community residence in Needham, Massachusetts, at the age of 90. He had been recently diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. Buzz, as he is affectionately known to all, is survived by his loving wife of 68 years, Caroline Collina Campbell; and two children, Lori Frieling (husband Bob) of Wellesley, MA and Jack Campbell of Fairfield, CT. Buzz and Caroline were fortunate to share their lives with seven grandchildren, Grant Frieling, Carly Frieling, Casey Frieling Brondky (Ben), Taylor Frieling, Alyson Campbell McAlister (Bryan), Hilary Campbell Bhatia (Kieran) and Matthew Campbell. Buzz is also survived by four great-grandchildren, Madison, Sawyer and Savannah Frieling and Teddy Brondsky; as well as his loving brother and sister-in-law, Kent and Alice Campbell of Andover, MA and their children and grandchildren. Buzz was born September 10, 1935, at Boston Lying In Hospital, to his parents, John and Bobsy Campbell, and grew up in Wellesley Hills. He met Caroline in the 7th grade, and they dated through their high school and Buzz's college years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he was a mechanical engineering major, PKE member and Navy ROTC candidate. Immediately upon graduation, Buzz and Caroline were married at St. Paul's in Wellesley and Buzz commissioned as a Lieutenant JG in the Navy. Over his five years as an aircraft carrier pilot, he flew North Atlantic missions, piloting the Grumman S-2 submarine hunter-tracker, operating off the Valley Forge, Essex and Intrepid carriers based out of Norfolk, VA. Upon honorable discharge from the Navy, Buzz joined the industrial gases company, Air Products & Chemicals in Pennsylvania, where he had global sales and marketing leadership roles including all continents (except Antarctica, where we're sure he'd loved to have opened a gas plant, too). Buzz went on to become EVP and COO of AGA/Burdox US business in Cleveland Ohio, before starting his consulting business JR Campbell & Associates and publishing his trade magazine Cryogas International. and moving back to his and Caroline's roots to the Boston area. He piloted his consulting firm and team for over 40 years, never losing the joy of combining business, science, travel and long-standing friendships. He continued to consult with clients up to his 90th birthday. In 2016, Buzz and Caroline moved from Wayland, MA to the North Hill Community in Needham, MA, where Buzz developed weekly current events seminars, speaker series, and was an active member of the North Hill resident finance committee. Buzz developed and maintained many lifelong friends from RPI, the Navy, Air Products, AGA/Burdox, IOMA, his consulting firm, Weston Golf Club and most recently North Hill. He will be universally remembered for bringing intelligence, curiosity and unbridled enthusiasm to every colleague, friend and family member who was fortunate to know him. Buzz remained deeply connected to RPI and to his beloved Class of 1957 classmates throughout his life. He generously gave both his time and his resources to strengthen the RPI community. Funeral Mass will be held at St. Paul Church, 502 Washington St., Wellesley, on Saturday, May 2, at 11am, followed by a burial at Woodlawn Cemetery, Wellesley. Visiting hours omitted. Those who wish to honor Buzz's legacy may consider making a gift, in lieu of flowers, to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in support of the Spectrum Award Fund in his memory. Gifts may be mailed to the Gift Processing Department, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, P.O. Box 3164, Boston, MA 02241-3164, or made online at: impact.rpi.edu/project/3034 For complete obituary and online guestbook, gfdoherty.com George F. Doherty & Sons Wellesley 781 235 4100