John’s marriage to Kate Hughes in 1996 was more than a meeting of the minds: it was a union of passions for the mountains and mountain sports, for the arts, for learning about new things and discovering new ideas. The two first met in 1989 on a fast-paced 16-mile hike in the Shenandoah National Park. Two years later they got better acquainted through a circle of people loosely referred to as “the Himalayan Connection”- a mixed bag of hikers, mountaineers, and supporters of the International Campaign for Tibet who shared an interest in the mountains and culture of that part of the world and attended the same excursions, events, and parties.  At the PATC Mountaineering Section’s Annual Holiday party in 1992, John asked Kate out for dinner. 

At first intimidated by the 23-year difference in their age, Kate soon realized that not only was John in great physical condition, but he had a broader outlook and more enthusiasm for life than many men her own age. As Kate recalls: “He was a rock climber with subscription tickets to the Washington Opera.” Better yet, he like to cook, grocery shop, and throw gatherings large and small for friends from the outdoor and arts communities. 

Soon after they met, Kate and John began hiking locally nearly every weekend in the nearby mountains.  Kate also joined John for weekends at Seneca Rocks to hike while he climbed. Later they traveled widely—hiking, back-country skiing, and exploring in the mountains of North and South America, Japan, and Europe. 

Several years after their marriage, John’s encouraged Kate to pursue a Master’s Degree in the History of Decorative Arts and Design at the Smithsonian and the Corcoran College of Art. The program quickly became a joint effort: Kate sharing notes from lectures and reading with John as he photographed objects for her papers and presentations. Together they traveled to museums, galleries, and pottery studios both locally and abroad, frequently combining these trips with their mountain adventures. Their growing ceramics collection eventually led John to design an addition to their home for a gallery and an extension in Kate’s study to house her growing library and folk arts collection. 

Kate’s course work in ceramics history inspired John to pursue his own work in clay. In the last two decades of his life, he became regular at the Glen Echo Park Art Center where he took courses not only in pottery, but in silver-smithing as well. In his twice a week pottery classes he found friends and kinship among the Glen Echo Potters. Not interested in being a production potter, John created expressive pots that became looser and more varied as neuropathy later interfered with his ability to throw on the wheel. 

Among the many activities they enjoyed together, Kate and John especially liked bringing friends with similar interests together. Over the years they hosted numerous dinner, cocktail, and holiday parties. Their home developed a reputation as a special place for sharing stories, opinions, and laughter.  

Family was also important, and the two regularly visited Kate’s kin in Denver and John’s in Connecticut and the Chicago area, as well as attending family gatherings in Minnesota and Illinois. They also enjoyed hosting visiting relatives in their home and touring Washington’s museums and monuments with them. 

After formally closing his design/build business, Brookmont Builders, John continued to find projects and problems to solve in the organizations he belonged to and in the community. In addition to helping with climbing-related projects at Carderock, and reviewing the Great Falls Park Management Plan, he helped to remove invasive plants on trees in his neighborhood, and worked with the county to design and improve the bike path on MacArthur Blvd. 

Toward the end of his life, John did not associate growing older with giving up. At age 89, he pulled out his camera and took photographs of the creek running adjacent to the Glen Art Center; the results were displayed in the Glen Echo Art Labor Day Show. The following winter he submitted several of his pots to gallery exhibitions in Montana and Michigan and volunteered as a snow shoveler with an organization dedicated to helping older people stay in their homes. 

For John, turning 90 meant it was time to start a new project. After discovering that his undergraduate alma mater, The Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), offered a PhD in Design, John and Kate made plans to visit Chicago to learn more about it. However, the Pandemic arrived. With the pottery and his gym closed, John used the time to work with Montgomery County to design and plant garden of native, drought-resistant plants in front of the house, carefully moving heavy plants and fertilizer in his wheelbarrow. 

John approached life as a problem-solver, and Kate gratefully latched on to his positive approach to life’s challenges. Not all problems could be solved, however. Several months after recovering from COVID in January 2021, John’s health began a downhill slide, and during the following year, he was hospitalized for congestive heart failure three times. He came home for a final time to celebrate his 93rd birthday surrounded by family and friends. John Christian, treasured husband, family member, colleague, friend, and neighbor passed away a week later on May 11, 2002. His spirit lives on in all that knew him, loved him, and shared his dreams.