A member of IMA® for nearly 60 years, he joined when it was NAA, affiliating with the Phoenix Chapter and serving in many volunteer leadership roles at local and national levels.
John was an active member of IMA throughout his professional life. He joined in 1961 and was named president of the Phoenix Chapter in 1963-1964. In addition to his service with the Phoenix Chapter, he was chair of the program committee for the 1975 NAA Annual Conference as well as chair of the Committee on Membership in 1978.
In 1982, he joined the Board of Regents of the Institute of Management Accounting (the precursor to the ICMA® Board of Regents). Following his year of service as NAA President (the position that’s now IMA Chair), John remained involved in the organization, serving a second term as Phoenix Chapter president in 1991-1992.
At the time of becoming NAA President, John was the managing partner of the San Diego office of Arthur Andersen & Co. He joined the firm in 1957 and spent the majority of his career there, working in the firm’s Chicago; Phoenix; Milan, Italy; Los Angeles; and Orange County, Calif., offices.
In a profile that appeared in this magazine when he became NAA President, John shared the goals of his tenure, echoing the closing line from the poem “Ulysses” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. He stated: “My objectives for our Association are: To strive to halt the five-year decline in NAA membership. To seek out other compatible accounting associations who might have an interest in merging into NAA. To find ways to enrich our members’ pride in our Association. And not to yield to the awesome challenges that face our Association and our profession.” During his term, and both before and after it, John worked to accomplish those goals.
John attended St. Ambrose College in Davenport, Iowa, where he met and married his wife, Mary Ann, between his sophomore and junior years. He’s survived by his wife and family.
November 2020
