John Billington Abbott

March 27, 1941 - March 5, 2023

John Billington Abbott died at the age of 81 on March 5, 2023, in San Francisco, with loved ones at his side, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, on March 27, 1941. John is predeceased by his parents, John Arthur Abbott and Nancy (Clough) Abbott, and sister, Joan Abbott Dawley. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, María (Montoya) Abbott, children John Clough Abbott, Elizabeth Maria Abbott and Virginia Bancroft Abbott, their spouses Mariana (Schaan Saldanha) Abbott, Scott K Wilder and Jorge Godoy Coy, and five grandchildren, John Paul Abbott, Scotty and Katherine Wilder, and Ruben and Rafael Godoy Abbott. He was a beloved uncle to Christian and David Dawley.

After John’s freshman year at Holy Cross College, he took a leave of absence to travel abroad. What started as a summer project turned into an almost three year stay in Europe. Going directly to Madrid, he spent the next year studying Spanish, followed by a stay in France to study French at the Cité Universitaire of Paris. His love of languages never ended. He diligently studied Russian well into his 70s.

Upon returning to the U.S., John attended Columbia University and later earned a Master’s Degree in Economics from U.C. Berkeley. It was at the International House at Berkeley that John met the love of his life, María. After their marriage in 1967, John joined Citibank in New York. John’s career with Citibank’s International Group led to 20 years of assignments in Puerto Rico, Paris, New York, Uruguay and New Zealand. In 1988, John and Maria returned to the Bay Area to settle permanently in San Francisco.

John was an avid runner, competing in marathons throughout the 1970s and 80s. After suffering a knee injury, a doctor in Paris recommended that John try yoga. Yoga became an essential part of John’s daily routine and eventually became the basis for his life’s work. In 1996, John acquired the Yoga Journal, previously a struggling non-profit organization, and transformed the company into the leading publication for yoga practitioners worldwide.

John loved spending summers at his cherished family home on Rye Beach, enjoying time with family and friends and long walks on the beach. John will be remembered as a loving husband, father and grandfather, loyal friend and generous to a fault.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, March 25 at 11:00 AM at St Dominic’s Catholic Church, 2390 Bush St.@Steiner.

In lieu of flowers please consider sending a donation in memory of John B. Abbott to Cancer Research at the University of California San Francisco (makeagift. ucsf.edu).