Dear Anne,
           We’re so sad!  John was such a good person. John was always so helpful and willing to help Skip and I. I  remember when we were. considering buying our home we asked John to look at it and tell us what he thought. He went right to the basement and told us there were termites and that we should not go forward with our planned purchase. He saved us from a huge heartache.
John was a great friend and someone that you could depend on. 
Anne please send us your new address so we can stay in touch.
Inta & Skip

I am so sorry I took so long to write something. I live in Tennessee and I heard John had passed away but I did not see his Obituary until I Googled him this afternoon.

I worked with John for over 20 years and I always enjoyed his friendship. John was an excellent manufacturing professional, a perfectionist, and most importantly a mentor to dozens of young professionals at Ashland. John was also a friend forever....he always stayed in touch.

 After we both were retired John would call me every couple of months with the latest scoop from our old Ashland friends. When I answered the phone he always said the same thing " Hey Dave, what's going on?" then he'd chuckle. 

To Anne, John, Kate and the entire Cushman family my deepest condolences.  John was a proud and humble man who's time came way too soon. May he always rest in peace.

I didn't work for John or for the most part with him but we always found each other. I spent much time with John on his visits to the UK and my visits to the US and I can say that the World is definitely a poorer place without him. Condolences to his family at this sad time.

Sorry to hear of Johns passing, enjoyed working with him. particularly his rather offbeat sense of humour, quite unlike most other Americans I worked with.
A talented Engineer, always worth listening to.






Alan Gregory   Ex Ashland UK

My condolences to the family. I had the pleasure of working with John at Ashland Chemical. He was an excellent manager, leader and mentor as well as an all round good guy. I learned a lot from him.  Rest in Peace.

I really enjoyed knowing and working with John for many years.He was a great friend and collegue and will be missed. I will plant a tree on my forest with the the rest of my friends in order to keep he on mind.My condolencies  to his family

Dear John, for me you have been a great boss during my work at Ashland and an excellent person of whom I have many good memories of our conversations and your visits to Bilbao with your sweet wife Anne. ¡Un fuerte abrazo! Ramón

John and had been friends since 1957 in Nether Providence High School. We car pooled to work in Marcus Hook after John finished college. John was best man at my wedding . We have been close friends with both John and Anne since their marriage in 1969. 
John was always helpful. He and Anne, as newlyweds, helped Lois and I to buy our first home. He taught me how to finish our basement. He was an excellent mentor and a fantastic friend,  We will  truly miss him.

To Anne, John and Kate,
I am so sorry for your loss.  I pray God comforts you in your time of grief.
John was a great man;  He was respected and admired by friends and colleagues.  He will be missed.
I have known John for over 35 years and have worked with him quite a bit even though we were in different divisions of Ashland.  We both spent a great deal of time in China and recall our sharing of his peanut butter and crackers with my crackers and granola bars and then going to pizza hut in Beijing.

John was a wonderful and close colleague but an even closer friend.
I will miss him

Bill Dondarski

Warm thoughts and prayers to the family.  
John’s influence and legacy still circulates through Ashland’s blood.

Please accept our deepest sympathy.  May he always be remembered for his contributions.

John and I frequently crossed paths internationally while managing and developing business for Ashland’s Foundry Products Division. He was a great traveling companion who rarely got upset or exhibited any frustration, had a unique sense of humor and, more importantly, was very resourceful. On one such occasion in the early 1990’s, we were stranded at a small, remote airport in China. Upon checking-in and making our way to the departure gate we learned that our flight was indefinitely delayed. The situation was really rather bleak. There was no one around who spoke English, no alternative flight options and no restaurant in the area. After waiting patiently for several hours and still no news about our flight, John proceeded to open his large carry-on bag and pulled out a big jar of peanut butter, a package of crackers and a couple bottles of soda! We eventually boarded a flight to our next destination but the experience we shared that day, especially the delicious peanut butter and cracker lunch, is something I will never forget. 

Cheryl and I have enjoyed traveling with John and Anne on several occasions prior to and after retiring from Ashland. Please know that we are thinking of you and wishing you and your family many cherished memories during this time of sorrow.

Oh Ann, I am so sorry, but I know he had a lot of love leaving this world. He was something else. Loved the jokes, kind words, the goofyness of John himself. I love you both so much.  Now Ann you can get a few things done, ( inside joke). May God help you though these trouble times.

Anne, John & Kate, you have my deepest sympathy. We were lucky to have you as neighbors for almost 20 years! LJ always enjoyed chatting with John. And John was always there to help advise us with any house issue - and had the tools to take care of things! Rest in peace, John.
Maureen

Wow what can I say about John C. He was one of a kind and will never be replicated nor replaced. 

What he has done for my career and personal growth, I am forever grateful. John taught allowed to be become a world traveler and taught me what it meant to be loyal to the people around you.

 John you will be forever missed but not forgotten!! Rest in Peace and enjoy seeing from above the fruits of your labor for all that you have left behind.

Parashar Joshi

Keeping John's family and friends in our thoughts. It is an honor to serve you.

In my communications role, I didn't have as much opportunity as his other colleagues to interact with John, but I could never forget him. He was simply one of those people you could tell was a straight-shooter and someone who you would pick as a business partner. No one so far has mentioned John's dry humor, but I think I detected it on more than one occasion. My deep condolences to his family and all those who had the pleasure of knowing John.

Sincerely,
Jim Vitak

John, 

You are a great and noble man for us. How can I put into words all that you have accomplished. It has been my honor to work with you in the past. 
And I believe you will always be in our hearts. I pray you rest in peace in heaven.

I am so sorry for your loss.   My thoughts and prayers are with you. 
Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend the services, but I wanted to share how special John was to me while we worked together at Ashland.  

Many people worked very hard to turn around Castings Solutions, but none worked harder than John.  He was always there to provide wisdom and advice to help in making the many needed hard decisions. 

John was truly an International businessman handling the extraordinary challenges that came our way from far off places, like China, Brazil, India, Australia, all over Europe and the 27 plants, or so,  that were under his leadership.  He was a quick study of the cultural nuances everywhere he went, making sure his staff understood the requirements we had for safety, quality, and operational excellence.

He was always supportive of the many new business opportunities that came our way, figuring out how we could cost effectively make a new product, or add a new service. He was respected and admired by his associates, customers, and the Senior Management throughout Ashland.

Mentoring young people was an important gift of John’s.  Many of our best people came up through John’s manufacturing ranks.  John also had a gift of bridging differences that seemed to come along often, especially in dealing with our various Joint Ventures.  He saved us more than once in some very difficult situations.

It was  an honor having had the privilege of working with John.    Casting Solutions would never have become as successful as it did without John.   I will always remember him with the utmost respect as a true leader, a confidant, and friend.

Sincerely, 

Mike

John,  my best professional example I’ve ever had. Great man and incomparable professional. I owe him all my professional growth. I will miss you my friend. May God receive you, and take care of Anne and your family.

I owe much of my career to John.  He defined hard work, dedication, and excellence.

God Bless and look over Anne, John John and Kate 💔🙏. I worked and travelled the world with John from 4/1991 until 9/2007 in our Ashland FPD days pursuing global excellence in mfg and administration.

OBITUARY

John Paul Cushman

October 22, 1941 – December 2, 2023

Schoedinger Worthington

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