John F. Wootton

John Francis Wootton, May 31, 1929 – August 9, 2026. Born in Penn Yan, N.Y., he was the son of Margaret Eliza (Smith) and Rev. John Edenden Wootton. After graduating as the class valedictorian from Clifton Springs High School, where he participated in sports, music and numerous clubs, he earned Bachelors of Science and Masters of Science degrees in biochemistry from Cornell University, investigating methods to characterize the amino acid composition of proteins. Following graduation he served in the U. S. Army as chief of the Biochemistry Section in the Second Army Medical Laboratory at Ft. George Meade, Maryland. He returned to Cornell to complete his PhD in biochemistry, exploring the structure and reactions of the enzyme chymotrypsin under his long-time friend and colleague George Hess. During this time, John met fellow doctoral student Joyce MacMullen, who would become his wife of over 60 years, and they moved to England, where John held an NSF postdoctoral fellowship at Imperial College, London. He was then appointed to the Department of Biochemistry, Physiology and Pharmacology faculty in the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, where he stayed for his career, attaining the rank of full professor. During his tenure, he also was appointed as Associate Dean of the Cornell Graduate School. He spent time as a Visiting Professor at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge University, where he worked on the structure and function of hemoglobin, in the Department of Gastroenterology at Stanford University, and at the National Institute for Medical Research in London. Beyond the study of trypsin-related biochemistry, he studied nitrogen utilization pathways in the vertebrate gut, and later helped design and synthesize photo-sensitive caging molecules to allow study of the precise localization and characterization of chemical reactions underlying nervous systems. John loved teaching, and was especially proud of his role bringing case-based pedagogy to veterinary students at Cornell.

John was a thoughtful, kind and gentle man who loved his family, liked to travel, was an excellent cook and enjoyed being outdoors, particularly fishing, camping and maintaining a large and verdant garden. He took the core Christian values to love thy neighbor and care for those less fortunate than himself seriously and was an active member of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ithaca, where he served on the vestry. He loved classical music and jazz, was a devoted bass in the church choir, participated in the Ithaca Community Chorus and Chamber Singers and the Crouch End Festival Chorus (London), and made several trips to perform in Europe with the Berkshire Choral Festival.

Aside from his parents, John was preceded in death by his wife Joyce, and sisters Elizabeth (Betty Lou) Manley and Margaret (Peg) Dow. Survivors include his children Tim (Cathy Pfister), David (Gina Snyder), Barbara (Marc Charpentier), and Bruce (Anne Wong); eight grandchildren, John Marc, Eric, John Benjamin, Anna, Mia, Christopher, Forrest and Tanner; and twelve beloved nieces and nephews and their families.

The family thanks Gale Hornbrook, Hilary Schilling, Sarah Webster, Audrey Morgan, Bonnie Gross, Ben St Clair, Kadence Carmen, Catherine Sanders, Molly Brown, and Dusty Ward Snyder for their skilled, compassionate, and dedicated care of and companionship to John.

A funeral service will be held on August 22, 2026 at 10:00 am at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 210 North Cayuga Street, Ithaca, NY.

Donations may be made to Loaves & Fishes in lieu of flowers.