John E. Theberge ’66

JOHN E. THEBERGE, Vienna, VA, died January 17, 2023. In his youth, John spent summers working in the textile mills of Lawrence, MA, which convinced him he needed to go to college. He found Saint Michael’s to be a great experience and was a lifelong proponent of a liberal arts education and supporter of the College. John began law school at Georgetown University but was drafted into the Army after his first year and sent to Vietnam, where he worked in military intelligence. He finished Georgetown Law in 1972 and took a job with the Internal Revenue Service. In the early 1980s, he became a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Kutak Rock, specializing in the federal income taxation of state and local government obligations. It was there that he met Dianne Loennig Stoddard, and they married in 1993. John continued his legal career and earned a master of laws degree in taxation from Georgetown. He retired in 2016, but as a lifelong learner, he said that working had interrupted his education and enrolled in a master’s degree program at Marymount University. In 2022, he received a master of arts degree in English and humanities and was recognized as an outstanding graduate student by the faculty. John had a deep knowledge and understanding of many sports, especially baseball, and was a big fan of the Boston Red Sox. He was athletic as well; he ran marathons into his 60s, and loved cycling. Those who loved him knew they could count on his quick booming laugh and accompanying clap and his unfailing generous nature. You knew he took the time to care about you and the issues you cared about, and if he disagreed with you, you knew that too. John was the best kind of person—a wonderful, kind husband, son, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend; a brilliant thinker, reader, storyteller, student, attorney, and gadget collector; and a part-time home architect and project maker. He is survived by his beloved wife Dianne, siblings, extended family, and wonderful friends.