Obituaries
Wayne Snyder, 63, of the Plasma Physics Lab, died on December 13.
Born in Philadelphia, he worked for US Steel before
joining the University in 1985. He was a member of the Eagle
Club 2489 of Levittown. He is survived by his wife Mary;
daughters, Mary Smith and Marie Titus; and son Wayne.
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Born in Hastings, Neb., McCleery graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1931. After working as a reporter in Omaha, he joined the Hearst Newspapers in New York and later the Associated Press. As a 21-year-old, he covered Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inauguration. He later held editorial positions with Life magazine and Ladies Home Journal.
His play Hope for the Best debuted on Broadway in 1945, starring Franchot Tone and Jane Wyatt; it was followed by Parlor Story with Walter Abel. A Play for Mary, to star Helen Hayes and her daughter Mary MacArthur, was Broadway-bound when MacArthur succumbed to polio. Hayes later starred in McCleery's adaptation of Good Morning, Miss Dove. In the era of live dramatic television, he wrote a dozen one-hour television plays.
McCleery joined Princeton in 1963 as founding editor of University magazine and also taught a playwriting workshop in the creative arts program starting in 1968. Though he retired from these positions in 1977, he continued to write about the University. His publications include The Human Nature of a University (1969), compiled from the papers of President Robert Goheen; Conversations on the Character of Princeton (1986); The Story of a Campaign for Princeton 1981-1986 (1987); and Wit and Eloquence of Woodrow Wilson, Teacher (1996). He was a member of the McCarter Theatre board of directors and a trustee of the Daily Princetonian.
McCleery wrote theater reviews for the Town Topics for 28 years until 1998. He was well known to children and parents as the author of Wolf Story, a children's book first published in 1947, described by the New York Times Book Review "a little work of art" which "has to last forever."
McCleery is survived by his sons, Michael and Samuel; five grandchildren; and his companion, Helen Wilmerding. His wife Anne died in 1989.
A memorial service was held in the University Chapel on January 22. Donations may be made to the Princeton Junior School.
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