John James Hefferren
Born August 12, 1928 – Passed February 23, 2017

John James Hefferren, husband of the late Sandra Ann Mancewicz, Lawrence, Kansas.

Father of Anne Walsh Hefferren Manske and her husband Jonathan Manske, Grandfather of Sabine Sahara Manske, Littleton, Colorado; Father of Aileen Carol Hefferren and her husband Charles Harkless, Grandfather of Owen Waller and Perry Rex Hefferren-Harkless, Harlem, New York; Father of Neal Richard Hefferren, Grandfather of Patrick John and Finnegan James Hefferren, Kansas City, Missouri; and Father of Clare Jean Hefferren of Vail, Colorado.

Brother-in-law of Thomas A. Mancewicz and Barbara Jean Zachek Mancewicz, Detroit, Michigan and Uncle of Mary Susan Mancewicz Simpson and her husband Nick Simpson and their daughter Miranda Simpson, Woodland, Colorado; Uncle of Joseph Paul Mancewicz and his wife Richelle Veale Mancewicz and their children Evan and Cole Mancewicz, Los Angeles, California; Uncle of Martha Mancewicz Timmer and her husband Jeff Timmer and their children Sophie Anne and David Timmer, Culver City, California; and Uncle of Mark Mancewicz of Los Angeles, California.

John J. Hefferren was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Grammar School and De La Salle High School, both in Chicago. He received a BS Degree in Chemistry from Loyola University in Chicago and a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. At the University of Wisconsin, he, along with Robert Hull, was the first graduate student with an undergraduate Chemistry major admitted to the School of Pharmacy. Other graduate students with undergraduate Chemistry majors from Loyola and other universities then followed their admission into the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Program at the University of Wisconsin, which grew to one of the major research and education pharmaceutics centers in the world.

He married Sandra Ann Mancewicz on August 6, 1965 at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, DC. They lived in Chicago and then Evanston, Illinois where they raised their four children until June 1987 when they moved to Lawrence, Kansas. Their daughter Anne obtained a BS in Psychology from the University of Florida, Gainesville. Aileen graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, having spent her third year at the London School of Economics. Neal obtained a BA in English from the University of Kansas and a degree in law from the University of Illinois College of Law, Champaign. Clare earned a BA in Sociology from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, John Hefferren joined the Laboratory of the Council of Drugs of the American Medical Association in 1953. Three years later, he joined the American Dental Association Council on Dental Therapeutics as Director of the Laboratory. He continued with the ADA through 1985, concluding his tenure with 15 years as Director of the Research Institute of the American Dental Association. In parallel with the American Dental Association, he held a number of appointments including Professor of Oral Biology at Northwestern University Schools of Dentistry and Medicine.

In 1987, he moved with his family from Chicago to Lawrence, Kansas as President of Odontex, Inc., an incubator company started by Professor Takeru Higuchi with the University of Kansas. At KU, Dr. Hefferren had appointments with the Higuchi Bioscience Center and the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry. He worked with Professor Howard Rytting at the University of Kansas who focused on the oral metabolism and drug delivery in humans and animals. These studies were done in collaboration with a number of universities, including the College of Chemistry and Health Science Center of Peking University, Beijing, China. He also consulted extensively with Colgate-Palmolive and Hill’s Pet Nutrition Center on scientific matters. Even in his later years, he still travelled internationally to advance the standards of oral science.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 3 p.m. Friday, February 24, 2017 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church. The family will greet friends one hour prior to the service at 2 at the church.

Graveside Service Saturday, March 4, 2017, 12 Noon, at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, 6001 W. 111th St., Alsip, IL. Rev. Joseph Altman, Pastor of Nativity of Our Lord Church, officiating.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made in his name to LINK Unlimited Scholars ~ Chicago, IL and may be sent in care of the Warren-McElwain Mortuary, 120 W. 13th Street, Lawrence, KS 66044.

Arrangements by CENTRAL CHAPEL, Chicago. For information, Please visit JOHN HEFFERREN BOOK OF MEMORIES. To express your thoughts or memories in the online guest book, visit www.chapelc.com or www.facebook.com/centralchapel. Info., 773-581-9000.

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