John received all three of his degrees from Bowling Green State University with a doctoral concentration in social demography.  From 1971 to 2002 he taught sociology at the Western Campus of Cuyahoga Community College where he also maintained an active  research agenda investigating demographic and public health issues.  During his first (1996-97) Fulbright he taught sociology at Kyiv National University; his then 15 year old son accompanying him for the fall semester.  This experience led to an interest in conducting a historical ethnography of a small town in western Ukraine for which he was awarded a 2004-05 Research Fulbright.  He continues this research with biannual field trips to Poland and Ukraine.  He and his wife, Gail, live in North Olmsted, Ohio and enjoy travelling, hiking and listening to classical music.