MIDDLEBURY — John David “JD” Child passed away on May 1, 2021, after suffering a heart attack at his home in Middlebury, Vermont. He was 65 years old.
John was born in Burlington on Oct. 20, 1955, and spent his early years growing up on a dairy farm in Weybridge, Vt., that had been in the Child family for two centuries. He was the son of John Child and Joann (nee) Cutting. The family moved to Middlebury, where his parents were teachers.
John attended Williams College, helping to form one of the United States’ first Ultimate Frisbee teams and graduating in 1977 with a degree in political economics. Keenly interested in computing, he pursued that career at Williams and Sprague Electric in North Adams (the building that now houses Mass MOCA), before taking positions in Washington, D.C., and Boston.
John’s life was transformed in 1989 when he visited the country of Nepal. He fell in love with the people, the culture, and the land. And they with him: he became close to a Sherpa family and formed a culture-and-trekking company, “Friends in High Places,” with them. Specializing in low-impact, high-contact travels to Nepal, John and family hosted visitors from around the world, taking them to the exquisite cities, mountains, rivers, lowlands and highlands of Nepal and Bhutan. He helped the extended family purchase a home in Kathmandu and spent many happy years there, running the business and helping to raise children as the beloved “John Uncle.” He learned Nepali and traveled throughout South Asia, returning to the United States during the summertime monsoon season.
John is survived by his cousin Sandy Bove and her husband Bruce, and his Nepali-Bhutanese family, Sumitra Gurung, Krishna Yadi, Migyur Yadi, and AD Sherpa, among many others.
A private graveside memorial service will be held at a future date.  In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Nepal Youth Foundation at nepalyouthfoundation.org.◊