John Lemuel Bethune
83, Barnstable, Mass. John Lemuel Bethune, 83, Barnstable, Mass., and Baddeck, N.S. Professor Emeritus Harvard University Faculty of Medicine. It is with sadness the family of John Lemuel Bethune PhD, formerly of Baddeck, N.S. announce his recent passing. He was a graduate of Acadia and Clarke University, Wooster, Mass., earning his MA, MSc and PhD degrees. He was associated with Harvard University for over 30 years, first as a research associate, then as a tenured professor of Radiology in Biochemistry where he conducted research at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston. He co-authored 35 research papers, published in numerous scientific journals including the National Academy of Sciences. In the 1970s his pioneering research into angiogenesis contributed to the development of Avastin, a drug now used in the treatment of cancer and macular degeneration. Later, his primary research in molecular transport provided previously unknown knowledge about how certain molecules interact with proteins, laying the groundwork for designing drugs to combat cancer. In Baddeck, he is fondly remembered as the author of the Baddeck Academy school song and for his efforts in saving hundreds of volumes of books from the Baddeck Public Library during a disastrous fire in 1939. Lem is survived by his widow, Nancy, Barnstable, Mass.; brother, Norman, Baddeck; sister-in-law, Marie Bethune and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Norman and Danenia (Dolly) Bethune and brother, Crosson. Burial took place in Barnstable.
