Norwich, VT – John W. Lamperti, 91, died Saturday, October 26, 2024, at Forestview Manor Assisted Living in Meredith, NH. He was the only child born to Frank and Louise (Williams) Lamperti on December 20, 1932, in Glen Ridge, NJ.

John is survived by his partner, Page Coulter of Center Sandwich, NH; wife and longtime friend, Claudia McKay of Norwich, VT and Green Valley, AZ; sons, Matthew Lamperti of Berkeley, CA; Steven Lamperti of San Jose, CA; Aaron Lamperti of Norwich, VT; daughter, Noelle Lamperti of Norwich, VT; friend and collaborator, Arlene Ash of Boston, MA; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandchild on the way.

How to summarize a life well lived? John was first and foremost a man of reason. He was a brilliant mathematician who earned his doctorate in mathematics at Caltech in his early 20s and contributed 3 books and 40-some publications to the field over his academic career. During his studies, he met Claudia McKay; they married in 1957. After teaching for several years at Stanford, he came to Dartmouth as much to sing opera in Laurie Snell's barn as to work on probability theory with John Kemeny. During sabbatical years in Cambridge, Aarhus, and Moscow, he studied Danish and Russian. Spanish came with his travels in Central America and a few weeks before his death he suggested that this might be a good time to work on his German. Over time his interests shifted, and he began to write on topics of peace and justice, beginning with resistance to the war in Vietnam. He wrote about the dangers of nuclear weapons and power, the Cold War, imperialism in Central America, and much more. He had an enduring fascination with heroes of conscience — people who do not go along with the majority despite social pressure, but see through to the truth of a situation and act on their conscience, their own truth. Though he might have denied it, John was such a man. In ways both small and large, he always saw through to the truth: that every individual has value, and that nonviolent action in service to peace and justice is the only way to a better future. That is how he will be remembered because that is how he lived. This idea is perhaps best captured by Martin Niemöller's famous words, which John was known to quote:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—
and there was no one left to speak for me.

A private burial will be held by John's family at Hillside Cemetery in Norwich. Condolences may be expressed to John's family in an online guestbook at www.knightfuneralhomes.com. Literally nothing would have pleased John more than to be an inspiration for donations in his honor to ACLU of Vermont at https://www.acluvt.org/en/give or Peace Action at https://www.peaceaction.org/get-involved/donate/.