John Bliss, 82, of Newton, Mass., died of complications from Parkinson’s disease on February 1, 2023. A man who lived his values each day, he leaves behind a light carbon footprint and legacy of deep community impact in the city where he lived for 55 years.
Born on February 11, 1940, in New York City, John spent his boyhood in Bedford, New York. His lifelong love for the environment was inspired by the nearby Westmoreland Sanctuary where he roamed the fields and woods and fished in nearby streams.
John was passionate about protecting green space in Newton and creating safe roads for cyclists and pedestrians. As president of the nonprofit Newton Conservators, he spearheaded the city’s acquisition of the last large parcel of open space on the Charles River in Newton to create the 57 acre Nahanton Park. He chaired the Newton Bicycle/Pedestrian Task Force and served as secretary of the Newton Citizens Energy Commission. He was active with the Democratic City Committee, Newton Sister City Project, and Kidney Transplant/Dialysis Association. For ten years, he worked with a group of Newton residents to successfully pass a snow shovelling ordinance that ensured sidewalks were accessible to pedestrians during the winter.
John’s daily routine reflected his environmental commitment. He recycled, rode his bicycle to work, shopped with canvas grocery bags, and installed LED lightbulbs, a generation before these practices were common.
In the summer of 1963, John was among a group of Harvard Law School students who travelled to the South to support civil rights activism. He worked with the Donald L. Hollowell Law Firm in Atlanta that represented the first black students to be admitted to the University of Georgia. He later recalled a meeting with the late U.S. Congressman John Lewis, who was the same age as John and then chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
His devotion to the environment and to civil rights was surpassed only by the love he had for his family. He married his wife, Tamara (Guzik), in 1964 and their two children were born a few years later. John had a special love for the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Whenever he reached a summit, he would look at the mountain range and name every mountain in view. He participated in Sierra Club work trips in Alaska, New Mexico and Colorado, where he assisted park rangers in trail and building maintenance. As a couple, John and Tamara took week-long backpacking trips. They toured New England by bicycle and on cross-country skis. Later, they studied Italian and took five trips to Italy.
A devoted husband and father, John coached his son’s soccer team, spent countless hours on homework, led family hiking trips, and instilled a love of lifelong learning. His children said they didn’t need an encyclopedia or Google, as they could ask Dad for information on nearly any topic and he’d know the answer.
John led an active life despite significant health challenges. Diagnosed with kidney disease at age two, John received a kidney transplant from his sister, Virginia, when he was in his forties. He lived with the transplanted kidney for 42 years, far surpassing expectations.
John spent most of his career in information technology at the Central Transportation Planning Staff, a state agency dedicated to transportation in the Boston region. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, he learned computer programming in the 1960s and got in on the ground floor of the emerging IT profession.
He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Tamara (Guzik); children, Stephen Bliss of Brookline and Mimi Bliss of Nashville; grandson, William Barrett of Nashville; sister, Virginia Bliss of Sutton, Mass.; nephew Peter Guzik of Holland, Penn; and many beloved cousins. He was the son of the late John B. Bliss and Maude Lee Bliss.
Donations may be made in John’s name to Newton at Home or Newton Conservators. There will be a celebration of life in the Spring.
