John Ross Lasley of Princeton, NJ passed away peacefully on June 30, 2023 at home. John had a happy, eventful life, filled with endless humor and deep love for friends and family. He was a motorcyclist, pilot, skier, fisherman, and scuba diver.
After serving in the Navy during WW2, John enrolled at Yale, leaving two years later to join the circus. John facetiously said that his parents were delighted by this decision.
Between 1951 and 1961, John married Katharine Parker, built his house, and had 4 children: Janet, Martha, David, and Tom. He also began a long career at Opinion Research Corp. in Princeton, eventually retiring as a senior VP.
Through the years John was very active in the Princeton community, serving as executive director, president, and chairman of several organizations. The Princeton Chamber of Commerce once named him Man of the Year. He was known for his storytelling, generosity, kindness, charisma, open-mindedness, sensitivity, and optimism.
After Katharine died, John (at the age of 84!) went on match.com and met Dottie Batho. They married in 2013 and had 10 years of love, happiness, and adventure together.
John outlived his first wife Katharine, his daughter Janet, and his brothers. He is survived by his wife Dottie, three children Martha, David, and Tom, nine grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and many others.
To view the full obituary, go to www.aloiafuneral.com and enter Lasley. A date for a future Celebration of John’s Life will be posted there soon. If you wish to make a contribution to NAMI in John’s name, please visit namimercer.org.
