Dr. Alton Campbell,

Dr. John Alton Campbell Jr., 83, of 1725 Speedwell Road, Lancaster, PA, passed away on September 21, 2015. He was born in Clearwater, FL on November 24, 1931 to parents Jessie (Robarts) Campbell and John Alton Campbell of Seminole, FL. After graduating from the University of Florida in 1959, he moved with his family to Lancaster, PA to take a teaching position at Franklin and Marshall College. In 1966 he returned to the University of Florida to obtain a Doctorate Degree and returned to Lancaster in 1969 to take a position in the English Department of Elizabethtown College, from where he retired in 1997 as the head of the department. John served in the U.S. Army, Infantry Division, in Germany from 1954 to 1956, followed by several years in the Army Reserve. John was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity at the University of Florida, the Strasburg Lions Club, Strasburg, PA and the Largo Lions Club, Largo, FL. He was married to Bonnie Ann Campbell of Lancaster for the past eighteen years. John and Bonnie were members of Highland Presbyterian Church in Lancaster and Aldergate United Methodist Church in Seminole, FL. He is preceded in death by his younger son, Douglas M. Campbell, who passed away in November 2012, and his brother Thomas E. Campbell of Seminole, FL and West Memphis, AR, in 1993. His surviving children are Laurel Campbell Canard, wife of Richard Canard, Lancaster; John Clayton Campbell, Wrightsville, PA; Carol Ann Campbell, Lancaster. Four grandchildren: Kyle Egan in Brooklyn, NY husband of Alison Egan; Kurtis Egan in Glendale, CA; Kelly Martin in Silver Spring, MD, and Lindsey Campbell in Wrightsville, PA. Two step granddaughters, Brooke Nelson in Wrightsville, and Danielle Wolf of San Diego, CA. He is also survived by his niece, Margaret Campbell and her two children, Adam and Chloe, in Memphis, TN. John is also survived by his stepchildren, Rachel Eavenson-Filipovitz wife of Ned Filipovitz, Baltimore, MD; Adam and Tina Eavenson, Lancaster, and five step grandchildren: Christopher, Chas, Maya, Hayden and Lucas. He is also survived by many cousins and their extended families in Seminole, FL. John loved so many things in life, especially his family and friends. As a young man, he was a batboy for the NY Yankees’ spring training in St. Petersburg, FL where he played catch with Joe DiMaggio and others on Al Lang field. He followed the Florida Gators and the Tampa Bay Rays and watched every game, every season. He enjoyed playing golf, squash and tennis with colleagues and friends. He loved watching movies and especially liked the comedians of early television: Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, Groucho Marx, Buster Keaton, Peter Sellers, Jack Lemmon and Jonathan Winters. He enjoyed reading, particularly the classics, which he believed should continue to have a place in academics. Some of his favorite authors are Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens and Shakespeare. He was an early and strong supporter of the civil rights movement and was instrumental in welcoming Dr. Martin Luther King to Franklin and Marshall College in 1963. He enjoyed leading F & M’s Debate Team and escorted the team to New York City to compete on the College Bowl television program. He loved living in Florida where he could be near his family and enjoy the warm weather. He also loved living in Lancaster County in all of its beauty and bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially peaches and sweet corn. He also loved ice cream and frequently took his family to Good’s Dairy Barn in Lancaster on warm summer nights. John was always gentle and kind, loving and gracious. He will be lovingly missed by his family and friends. John’s family will welcome friends to celebrate his life on Tuesday, October 6, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. at The Groffs Family Funeral & Cremation Services, 528 West Orange Street, (the corner of Orange & Pine Sts.) Lancaster, PA 17603. Memorial contributions may be made to Elizabethtown College, The Development Office, 1 Alpha Drive, Elizabethtown, PA 17022 and St. Anne’s Retirement Community, 3952 Columbia Avenue, Columbia, PA 17512.

Dr. Alton Campbell,

September 24, 2015