Exonian Profiles
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John Learned '31: 'It's a Wonderful Life' If you want to know the true meaning of lifelong relationships, just ask John "Jack" Learned '31. In November, over 50 family members (including his cousin PEA history instructor Andy Hertig '57) and friends gathered at the Exeter Inn for his 90-years-young birthday party. "The Exeter Inn has been part of my life, all of my life," says Learned, "from eating dinner there with my parents as a child, to attending Exeter reunions and celebrating my 50th wedding anniversary." One special friend in attendance, Frank Morrill '31, first met Learned not at Exeter, but in kindergarten in their hometown of Newburyport, MA. Another guest was his Harvard roommate, J. Edward Downes Jr. "Now," says Learned, "how often does one get three 90-year-old men who have known each other for over 70 years, seated together at a birthday luncheon at the Exeter Inn?" Also traveling—from Portland, OR—to mark the occasion was Mrs. Barbra C. Harman, widow of classmate Stetson Harman '31. Although his family—daughters Lauchlan M. Learned and Langdon Learned Holloway, grandson Andrew Learned Holloway and stepdaughters Marsha Morrison and Melinda Morrison Stanojevic—compiled a collection of photos from his life for display, Learned says, "For me, the assembled guests were a living collage of my life." Understanding and preserving the past is a tradition in the Learned family. His mother wrote a line a day in a diary for over 50 years, "and preserving them is important to me," says Learned. In 1928, when Learned and his sister, Lorna, went on a guided pack trip in the Canadian Rockies, Lorna kept a diary. They were the first party to ascend the Saskatchewan Glacier in the Columbia ice field. In 1999 Learned returned with his daughters to Jasper National Park. "Where once there was wilderness," he marvels, "there is now a highway running through the Rockies, from Banff to Jasper. And there's a hotel at the foot of the Athabasca Glacier. The park personnel took a great interest in our memories of the 1928 trip. I gave an oral history, which they recorded for their archives. I also gave them a copy of my sister's diary." After Exeter, Learned obtained a B.A. in history from Harvard in 1935. He spent over four decades with the same firm, Towle Silversmiths Company. (He also served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1942 to 1947.) But he calls his marriage to his late wife, Kathryn, "the highlight of my life. We enjoyed raising a family and doing things together." Kathryn died in 1997, but he remains very close to his children—and to Exeter. Learned not only attends school reunions, but also enjoys his role as a class correspondent. Some secrets to Learned's longevity include working out three times a week to keep his heart strong; being "lucky to have low cholesterol"; and enjoying a nip of rum at night. To help keep his mind alert, Learned taught himself how to use the computer in 1993, and he's since become an expert at FreeCell, a Microsoft computer game with 32,000 different sets to play. "After four years," he says, "I am now up to game number 9,222. I read once that Franklin D. Roosevelt played a solitaire card game every night before turning in, and I say, 'Why not me too?' " Although today Learned lives on Lake Winnipesaukee in Moultonboro, NH, his life remains much as it did at his family home in Newburyport, with its beautifully tended historic gardens. Perhaps they hold the key to the roots that have grown and spread into the many relationships he shares with his beloved family and friends—all have withstood the test of time. "It's been a wonderful life," he says, "and I am very grateful to have been this lucky." —Alice
Ann Gray |
