Obituary of John P. Geary

John Patrick Geary (76) passed away at his home on March 18, 2018. Geary came to Appalachian State University in 1976 to teach in what was then the Department of Business Education and remained to teach in the Walker College of Business until the fall semester of 2017 when he entered phased retirement. John Geary was born in Fort Knox, KY, in September 1941, where his father served with the U.S. military as an oral surgeon. He grew up in Mobile, Al, where he attended University Military School for elementary and high school, University of Alabama in Birmingham for his undergraduate degree and Samford Law School for his JD. He practiced law in Mobile for three years before returning to George Peabody College (now of Vanderbilt University) in Nashville, TN for a PhD in Higher Education Administration. He served as Associate Dean of Students of Greensboro College and as an assistant to the Chancellor of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, each for an academic year, before accepting a position at Appalachian State University. He was a member of the Religious Society of Friends(Quakers) and served on Central Committee and on the Steering Committee for the Quaker Bookstore for many years. John is survived by his wife, Judith Foster Geary, sons John Michael and James Leo Geary, daughter Catherine Geary Johnson, son-in-law Eric Galan Johnson and grandchildren Mayanna Geary Johnson and Elan Patrick Johnson. He was preceded in death by his father, Leo Patrick Geary, mother, Pansy Pearl Kunkel Geary, and sister, Suellen Geary Wright. A memorial service will be held Tuesday March 27, 2018, at 5:30 p.m. on ASU campus in Peacock Hall (the Walker College of Business.) Memorial contributions may be made to Medi Home Healthcare and Hospice or to Hospitality House of Boone. Online condolences may be shared with the Geary family at www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com