John Bigelow Loveland

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Biographical Information

"In 1997, after moving to Sedona, Arizona, John Bigelow Loveland founded New Earth Foundation (NEF), being its first President. In order to help create a new world for all life to benefit from, he established the foundation with all of his inheritance - except for a small percentage of it reserved for the support of his children and their educational and medical needs until that was exhausted. For more details, please see About NEF.

"John grew up as John Bigelow Pell on 25 acres in the countryside near Syosset, Long Island, but thereafter lived mainly in New York City. Throughout his multifaceted life he has worked in many trades, from which NEF has benefited, and will continue to do so. John was President and Trustee of the Fort Ticonderoga Association, NY, founded by his grandfather, Stephen Hyatt Pelham Pell, which was largely financed by his great-grandfather, Col. Robert M. Thompson, who was married to the daughter of past Rhode Island Governor, William C. Gibbs. Great-grandfather Thompson had been magnate and philanthropist, as well as President and benefactor of the American Olympic Committee. The NEF fund goes back to Col. Thompson, who was so well-connected that he invited the later-to-be Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten and his royal bride to America, where he chartered a train to bring his distinguished guests across the continent to California. He hired Charlie Chaplin to make the movie Nice and Friendly (on the DVD, The Kid) at Charlie’s house, starring Charlie himself, the royal guests, the famous child star Jackie Coogan, and members of the Thompson-Pell family and friends...

"The United States Representative of NY, Herbert Claiborne Pell, Jr., was John Loveland’s beloved step grandfather and United States Minister to Portugal, U.S. Minister to Hungary, as well as a Member of the United Nations War Crime Commission (Democracy’s Aristocrat, The Life of Herbert C. Pell, by M. S. Blayney)...

"John Bigelow’s son, Poultney Bigelow, a great-grandfather of John, was a classmate and friend of Kaiser Wilhelm II. John’s grandmother, grand-daughter of John Bigelow, was a vegetarian activist against vivisection, famous artist, and an author (Belinda and Olive Pell Bible), John’s grandmother, Olive Bigelow Pell. Olive’s daughter, the popular spiritual “Social Light” of the time, was John’s beautiful mother, Daphne Tilton Pell, known as Pyrma, with Senator Claiborne Pell of the Pell Grants being Pyrma’s stepbrother. John recalls that in 1988, his Mother was invited to the White House under past President Reagan and placed next to French President Mitterrand at the gala dinner. She was fluent in French after having studied in Paris, and was highly skilled in etiquette.

"John and his sister, Sarah/Polly, grew up and dated people of great name and fortune, listed in the Social Register. However, having been a member of the social register himself, John decided to follow his own path and in 1999, in order to first be received for his own merits instead of that of his name, changed his name from Pell to Loveland, as carried over into NEF. He was determined to put his inheritance to good use to help others and also secure his children’s education, retaining only a minimal amount for himself.

"Before and during his time as President of Fort Ticonderoga, John worked in his father’s investment counsel firm, John H. G. Pell & Co., and later for Morse, Williams & Co, another investment firm. John also worked at Wall Street Management Corporation, founded by his father, co-creator of the 1940 Investment Act. John came to own Wall Street Management Corporation after his father retired. Prior to working for Wall Street Management Corporation, John was associated with Pell Gallery, worked as a typesetter and editor in NYC, and was a member of both the Academy of Political Science and New York Academy of Sciences.

"With his headquarters in New York, John traveled extensively, living in London, Scotland, Switzerland (most major cities), and Italy (Naples and Rome). Prior to his European travels and working in New York City, John had been a U.S. Army soldier stationed in the ancient German cities of Kaiserslautern and Mannheim.

"John’s years at Groton, a college-preparatory school associated with the Episcopal Church, were essential for John’s life: he thrived in Groton on many levels. His favorite subjects were history and science, and a classmate called him “one of the best fives players in New England,” fives being an English sport like handball. John learned to play the piano at the age of ten and participated in school concerts. His involvement in the school choir was an appropriate arena for his fine singing voice. Groton, with European-style education, was founded in 1884, and had been the school of many outstanding personalities such as F. D. Roosevelt, U.S. President; and Dean Acheson, Secretary of State.

"From early childhood on, John was interested in nature, sports, philosophy, history and political affairs, reading the daily paper from age seven on. His Harvard studies of philosophy were highlighted by an extraordinary, spiritual experience that caused him to intensely seek the divine. He joined the Gurdjeff Foundation in New York and later visited Venezuela a couple of times for further intensive “Work” experiences. Back in NY, John founded Church of the Father to assist people who wanted to grow spiritually. In Sedona, AZ, his deep spiritual connection was strongly felt when John was heard to play the piano in an extraordinary way, divinely inspired as if being the soloist of a heavenly orchestra!

"Yet nothing seemed so fulfilling to John Bigelow Loveland as establishing New Earth Foundation with most of his inheritance. With NEF he was building an organization that would enhance forward-looking efforts in the areas of science, education, environmental sustainability, and other fields to create a more enlightened and love-filled world. Establishing NEF gave John the opportunity to apply his many learned skills and his devotion to the welfare of the Earth and to the spiritual progress of humankind. Then, continuing in the spirit of his famous ancestors, John also founded Earth Community Research, an Internet business and forum for integral thinking: his individual, spiritual way.

"John has been listed in Who’s Who in America, holds a B.A. in philosophy from State University of New York, and is in the process of completing his Master of Liberal Studies degree in Global Affairs and Issues at the University of Denver. From his marriage to his late wife, Ellen Pell, an editor of a national magazine, John has three cherished adult children. John is married to Dr. Bara Loveland, who has supported him in all endeavors and helps make his life complete. Both are members of St. Luke’s Church, Sedona, in the Anglican Diocese of Arizona."