In Memoriam: John Birchfield Sr.

John Birchfield, FCSI, the founder and principal of Birchfield Foodsystems, a foodservice consulting and design firm, died Dec. 29. He was 82 years old.

Birchfield had a long and multifaceted career in the foodservice industry. From offices in Annapolis, Md., and Okemos, Mich., he designed foodservice operations and served as an operations consultant for institutions, hotels and clubs in the United States and Europe.

He served as a professor in the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management at Michigan State University and as v.p. of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J. In 1973, Birchfield won the International Foodservice Manufacturer’s Association Silver Plate Award as Foodservice Operator of the Year.

His industry service was equally varied and earned him many honors. Birchfield was a past-president of NACUFS and was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by that association in 1973. He also served as the president of Foodservice Consultant Society Int’l., and authored articles and books on foodservice and management. He served on the advisory board of Cahners Publishing Co. for three years and was a guest columnist for Food Management magazine.

He is survived by his wife, Josalee; two daughters; and son, John Jr., who heads up Birchfield Jacobs Foodsystems.

Services were held Jan. 4. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be given to: The Sierra Club or Feeding America.