John A. Mason, legendary English teacher and the man who gave St James’ School “its identity”, passed away in Chennai on Friday evening. He was 78.
He is survived by his wife Anjali, their son, daughter and two grandchildren.
“He was on a holiday in Puducherry where he had a fall and fractured his femur bone. Three days back he was shifted to a hospital in Chennai where he passed away,” said Seema Sapru, principal of The Heritage School and Mason’s sister-in-law. He was living in Gurgaon for the past few years, she said.
Mason joined St James’ as principal in 1978 and was there till 1991. From there, he went to Modern High School in Dubai and later returned to the country as headmaster of The Doon School.
Terence Ireland, principal, St James’ School, said: “During his time as principal, he created a great following among teachers and students because of his leadership qualities... He created a benchmark at St James’ and his successors have to work very hard to keep that up.”
“He gave St James’ its identity. He was principal when I was in Class XI-XII. He was not only our principal but taught us English,” said vice-principal Neville Holt.
Singer Vijay Kichlu passes away
Classical singer Vijay Kumar Kichlu passed away at a private hospital in Alipore on Friday. He was 93. Kichlu was taken to Woodlands Hospital in the evening following complaints of breathlessness. “He suffered a cardiac arrest before treatment could begin and passed away at 6.20pm,” said a spokesperson for the hospital.
.jpg)
