John Butler Babcock, 85, of Ithaca, N.Y., died April 12 at Bridges of Cornell Heights.

Recognized as a Cornell "foremost benefactor," Babcock was active in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Cornell Plantations, where he served two years as chairman of the Plantations Sponsors Group; and the Johnson Museum of Art. He was a co-founder of the Durland Lecture Series at the Johnson School.

Babcock was raised on Sunnygables Farm of Ithaca, known to many in recent years as Turback's Restaurant. He completed premedical school courses at Cornell's College of Agriculture and then enlisted in the U.S. Army where he engaged in 127 days of continuous ground combat in the Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45, moving up to the ranks to technical sergeant, commanding a combat platoon of machine guns and mortars, and later to first sergeant. The battalion in which he served was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its relentless attacks on the enemy at Remagen, Germany. His awards include the Bronze Star, an oak leaf cluster to the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, among others.

Babcock finished Cornell in 1948, managed an advertising firm in Richmond, Va., became a farm broadcast specialist in Cincinnati and then built and managed a new ABC network station in Indianapolis before returning to Ithaca in 1964 where he joined Roy H. Park to build a media empire, which he supervised for 19 years.

The author of "Taught to Kill" and co-author with Roy H. Park Jr. of "Sons in the Shadow," Babcock also wrote "Farmboy," which was made into a documentary film that was broadcast nationwide on PBS.

Babcock was predeceased by his wife, Nancy Keyes Babcock, and survived by three daughters and extended family.

A memorial service is scheduled for April 17 at 1 p.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church in Ithaca. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Cornell Plantations, care of Don Rakow.