[5][6] Active in the United States Naval Reserve for many years, he studied Russian in the Navy School of Oriental Language at Boulder, Colorado.

[8] Over a period of seventeen months he recruited students, faculty, and trustees and constructed Scott and Sanborn Halls in time for the fall 1964 semester.

In 1968, he was appointed to the board of governors of the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, California.

[13][14] Atherton was honored in 2004 by the Pitzer College community with the opening of a new residence hall bearing his name.

[15] The John W. Atherton Scholarship is available to seniors majoring in both English and World Literature when attending Pitzer College.