A memorial service for John W. Sheetz III, an alumnus and long-time staff member at MIT, will be held in the MIT Chapel Saturday, Dec. 12, at 2pm. Mr. Sheetz, 73, died of cancer at this Belmont home on November 18.
A member of the Class of 1942, Mr. Sheetz' activities ran the gamut from introducing radar to the Pacific Fleet in World War II, to fund raising for three major universities and performing magic at charities and festivals.
A native of Philadelphia, Mr. Sheetz received the SB and SM degrees in physics. He served in the Navy in World War II and later worked on the DEW Line Project at Lincoln Laboratory.
Kresge Auditorium and the MIT Chapel were completed under Mr. Sheetz' leadership and he served as executive director of MIT's Second Century Fund, the largest university fund raising effort up to that time.
Mr. Sheetz was named director of resources at the Harvard Business School in 1964, and in 1969 he became vice president at Tufts University with responsibility of fund raising, alumni activities publications and community relations. He retired from Tufts in 1979.
Most recently Mr. Sheetz was editor of the 50th Reunion Book of the Class of 1942. He is survived by his wife, Linda Williams Sheetz of Belmont; two daughters, Dr. Susan Sheetz of South Dartmouth and Patricia S. Bow of Littleton CO; two sons, John W. of Canton and Robert G. Sheetz of Cambridge, and six grandchildren.
A version of this article appeared in the December 2, 1992 issue of MIT Tech Talk (Volume 37, Number 15).
