John Casparis

John Casparis, 89, of Providence, RI passed away peacefully on Friday, August 30, 2024. He was the son of Hans Casparis and Therese Maud Casparis-Callie. John was born in Chur, Switzerland on May 13, 1935. He lived there with his parents, two sisters and two brothers. His parents founded and ran the Albert Schweitzer College in Switzerland, and this is where he met his beloved wife, Annette Stage, who was attending the college from her native Denmark.

Both John and Annette immigrated to the United States to attend University in the 1960’s. John attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for his undergraduate studies and then earned his PhD at Brown University, where he later taught. John and Annette married in 1962 in Providence, RI. They later moved to Vestal, NY where they settled and raised their two children, Thomas and Lisa.  John was a sociology professor for 35 years at Binghamton University, where he focused on topics such as labor migration, deviance and economic demography. 

Once there were grandchildren in the picture, John and Annette moved back to Rhode Island to be closer to family. He volunteered at the Haffenreffer Museum of cultural anthropology, Tap-In, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of East Bay residents in Rhode Island by combating food insecurity and economic hardship, and supported grant writing for various non-profits.

John always enjoyed the outdoors and stayed fit by riding his bike to work, cross country skiing, and working in the garden. He loved spending time in museums, traveling, and reading poetry and books alongside his daily New York Times.  In his later years, he had a daily swim at the YMCA or at the local beach in Barrington, RI. 

John is survived by his son Thomas, daughter Lisa, daughter in-law Mary, two sisters, Jane Gillespie and Therese Hunter, two brothers Claude and Christian Casparis, several nieces and nephews, and his four lovely grandchildren: Madeleine, Stage, Lantin, and Annelise.

His family will be celebrating John’s life with a small private ceremony. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to either the First Unitarian Church of Providence or McAuley Village, an organization that provides programs and services to help families recover from the trauma of homelessness and victimization. 

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