John William Clyde Bird

1932 - 2022

Bird

John William Clyde Bird PhD

November 10 1932-December 17, 2022

John was born in Hammond Hospital, Pennsylvania to Mabel E. Bird and John Francis Bird, the first of four children followed by Muriel (deceased), Caroline and Victor. John is survived by his sons Jason Bird and John "Wally" Bird; Daughter-in-law Michelle Bird; and grandson John Matthew Clyde Bird. John moved with his family to Colorado, where he had an active high school life, setting records, lettering in track, and serving as class president. Having raised Hereford beef cattle and pigs in his spare time, John first enrolled in Colorado A & M University as a Veterinary Sciences major. He changed direction and schools to study Geology at the University of Colorado. In his senior year, he made a new decision to study medicine, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant during his senior year in ROTC. In his free time, he played trumpet in a jazz band, and was on the National Ski Patrol in Colorado to earn extra money, and free skiing. While skiing during his junior year, he met and fell in love with Evelyn (Evie) Jean Stutzman, who he married in San Antonio Texas before deploying for basic training as a combat medic in the 11th Airborne Division, a MASH hospital paratrooper. After military service, John went on to earn his bachelor's and master's degrees in Physiology, and having earned straight A's was awarded a fellowship to study at the Department of Physiology at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, where he studied while supporting 2 month old Wally and Evie on the G.I. Bill and his fellowship. After completing his PHD with a dissertation on Muscular Dystrophy, he accepted an assistant professor position at Rutgers University in the Department of Physiology and Biochemistry. In his research he identified a biochemical technique to identify carriers of Muscular Dystrophy using the enzyme creatine phosphokinase. He received a National Science Foundation post-doc fellowship at Princeton University, and then moved to Egypt for a year with his family to study a population susceptible to Muscular Dystrophy on a Fulbright Scholarship. After returning from Egypt, his son Jason was born, and he continued focusing on Muscular Dystrophy, and the lysosome, earning a second Fulbright Scholarship to study at the laboratory of Nobel Prize Winner Christian De Duve in Leuven, Belgium. John earned two more Fulbright Scholarships and lived and worked in China in 1981, as one of the first Western Professors invited to teach in China (and Evie taught English), and then in Panama. During his tenure at Rutgers John served over 10 years as Department Chair and Director of the Bureau of Biological Research, and adjunct Professor of Medicine at Rutgers Medical School. Along with numerous scholarly publications, he registered important patents for the University and was one of five scientists who supported the United States Space program in 1980. John always said that his most important success was his work with his graduate students. John retired as Professor Emeritus, Distinguished Professor of Physiology in December 1999. John, Evie, and Jason moved to Port Aransas Texas soon after retirement to join John's parents and siblings enjoying family, fishing, and building a new home. John and Evie moved to Corpus Christi in 2013, where John spent his time with Evie at the Mirador retirement home, where Evie died in 2017. In 2022, John moved to Maryland, and spent his last days at Friend's House, a Quaker retirement community. John's family requests that any gifts in his memory be sent to either Rutgers University or the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). For the AFSC, gifts may be sent to the American Friends Service Committee, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 or: afsc.org/donate. For Rutgers, memorial donations may be made to the Rutgers University Foundation, Box 193, New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0193 or online at: give.rutgers.edu. A private memorial service has not been scheduled at this time.