John Walter Putre

JOHN WALTER PUTRE, AUTHOR AND EDUCATOR John Walter Putre of Exmore died quietly the evening of July 20. Putre was born in Brooklyn, NY, on Nov. 4, 1942, and grew up in Valley Stream on Long Island. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Villanova University, he entered Brown University and earned a Master of Arts in Teaching with a concentration in the social studies. While at Brown, he met his wife, the former Helen Brawner, whom he married in August 1965. After teaching for several years, he returned to the State University of New York at Stony Brook where he earned a Master of Arts in history in 1971 and a Ph. D. in American Colonial History in 1973. His teaching career, which spanned over 20 years, was spent in New York and Vermont. During those years he taught social studies, was an elementary school principal, and eventually became an assistant superintendent of schools in Bennington, VT. In 1986, Putre retired from education and followed a life-long dream to be a professional writer. Two hardcover mystery novels, A Small and Incidental Murder and Death Among the Angels, were published in 1990 and 1991 respectively by Charles Scribner and Sons. Both are soon to be reissued in e-book format. His short story "The Evil We Do" was selected for inclusion in The Prosecution Rests, a Mystery Writers of America anthology published in 2009. For almost 47 years, he shared his life with his wife Helen, who survives him, and a succession of much loved cats, the last of whom predeceased him by only three weeks. Arrangements for cremation are being handled by the Doughty Funeral Home in Exmore. There will be no funeral or memorial services. The family requests that anyone wishing to honor Putre's memory do so by sending a memorial contribution to the Cornell Feline Health Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Hungerford Hill Road, Ithaca, NY 14853, Attention: Sheryl Thomas or by making a contribution online at www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/oppsupp.cfm. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.doughtyfuneralhome.com Arrangements were made by Doughty Funeral Home, Exmore, VA.