John Forrest Gregory

John Forrest Gregory died on June 28, 2026, after a prolonged illness. Born on April 3, 1950, he grew up in East Longmeadow, MA, the son of Howard Burdett Gregory and Mary Augustine (nee Reilly) Gregory, who predeceased him. John had no living relatives.

John was especially proud of his descent from Native American Ousamequin, the Grand Sachem known as Massasoit, leader of the Wampanoag in eastern Massachusetts. John liked to say he was immune to poison ivy because of his Wampanoag roots. His other favorite relative was Rebecca Nurse, an aunt many times removed, who was hanged as a result of the Salem Witch Trials.

He was a graduate of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and later received a master's degree in library science from Simmons College. John used his library science skills to work for various federal government agencies.

A proud resident of Washington, D.C., John's true love was all things rock climbing. Introduced to the sport in 1975, he was quickly smitten. His time spent at Carderock earned him the moniker "The Mayor of Carderock." John knew all the routes and wrote several books about rock climbing. He was adamant about conserving the climbing area at Carderock for others and shared his knowledge generously with the climbing community.

In addition to local climbing, John loved climbing at Seneca Rocks, WV, and in Wyoming. Anywhere there was a crag or a summit, John loved the shared camaraderie and the teaching of the sport.

John was an honorary lifelong member of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club – Mountaineering Section, now known as the Potomac Mountain Club.

John had many friends in the climbing community, in addition to friends James Gregory and Robert Shimizu.

A memorial service will be held Thursday, July 23, at the Carderock Pavilion at 5:30 p.m.