Retired chemistry instructor John Pfeffer died Nov. 13, but his affect on the Highline community remains strong.

Pfeffer died after a short illness, at 62 years old.

He grew up in Federal Way and attended Charles Wright Academy, and went on to study chemistry at several institutions, including Linfield College and Iowa State University.

Pfeffer began teaching at Highline in 1987, continuing until his retirement in 2018.

But retirement wouldn’t keep him from continuing relationships and helping out those on campus.

“John would also do absolutely anything for you,” said Highline English professor Allison Green, a friend of Pfeffer’s.  “When I moved from Building 5 to Building 18, he took some of my personal furniture home in his truck to store until I moved into Building 18. One of the last times I saw him in person was when he brought the furniture back to campus in January.”

“We didn’t see each other after the pandemic began, although we were in touch virtually,” she said.

His kindness reached out far to lots of people around him, Green said.

“John was a very smart, creative, caring, and fun person. For example, he organized baby showers and birthday parties for faculty and staff,” she said. “Even after he retired, he made fudge and delivered it around campus.”

And his individual quirks, which made him who he was, didn’t go unnoticed.

“He became one of my best friends. He had all kinds of quirky obsessions,” Green said. “For example, he loved fonts, and he made a periodic table of fonts that I had hanging on my office wall for many years. He would write funny poems. He made his own t-shirts for gifts. I have two with jokes about fonts on them.”

Those who knew him have said that his compassion and sense of humor set him apart from others.

“John simply made life and work more fun and interesting,” Green said. “His enthusiasm was infectious.”