Memorials - February 11, 1998


JOHN DINSMORE MCCAULL '21
John Dinsmore McCaull, the last living member of the Class of '21, died on Sept. 29, 1997. He had been hospitalized 15 days for pneumonia in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minn. He was 99.
John had a long, decent life rich with family, business, and local activities. He married Janet Shores McGill, a graduate of Dana Hall, on July 11, 1934. They had two children: a son, Julian '58, born Feb. 22, 1936, and a daughter, Jane, born Nov. 23, 1939. There are now five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, all of whom he adored. It was a close family.
After graduation, John went into the family grain business. In 1931 he and his brother Philip founded the McCaull Lyman grain company. John was v.p. and ultimately president. He continued working into his 90s and was a member of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange for 75 years.
Beginning in the 1930s, John was a vice-commander of the American Veterans Assn., a regular attendee of the Presbyterian Church, and a member of the Minneapolis and Locust Hill Clubs. He was also once a "back row boy" in the chorus of a Junior League production. He supported Roosevelt during the Depression--"the only time I ever voted for a Democrat and probably the last"--but ended up an "independent." Upon graduation, he was voted "the most thorough gentleman" of the class. It was a judgment confirmed down his long life.
The Class of 1921

EDWARD DUMBAULD '26
Edward Dumbauld died at the family home in Uniontown, Pa., on Sept. 6, 1997, after four years of suffering from a stroke. He was 92.
At Princeton, Ed was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. After our graduation, Ed joined a number of our classmates in enrolling in Harvard Law School. He left the Law School in his third year to travel and study in Europe, which resulted in studies in corporate and international law and the award of an LLB, LLM, and doctorate from Leydon U. Ed also received an LLM from Harvard.
Ed returned to the U.S. in 1936, and took a position in the Attorney General's department, assisting in research of the antitrust laws. In 1949 he opened an office in Uniontown and engaged in private practice until he was appointed judge of common pleas for Fayette County, in the footsteps of his father. In 1959 he was elected to a 10-year term.
On Aug. 1, 1961, Ed was nominated by President Kennedy to be district judge of the U.S. for the western district of Pennsylvania and was immediately confirmed by the Senate. He served as a federal judge with distinction.
Ed and Mary Ellen Whelpley were married on Jan. 1, 1941. They had no children. Mary Ellen died in 1983.
We admire Ed Dumbauld and salute his memory. We are grateful to him and many others who have done their part in establishing the position of our class among the leading Princeton classes.
The Class of 1926

GARLAND MILLER LASATER '29
Gar died in his native Texas Aug. 18, 1997. He had prepared for college at Andover. At Princeton he was in Ivy Club.
He was president and general manager of Falfurias Creamery Co. and Falfurias Mercantile Co. and also had a cattle operation. In addition, he was a polo player. He was active in almost countless community and county affairs as well as businesses, including one year as sheriff. He was president of the Chamber of Commerce and County Improvement Society, Jersey Cattle Club, and Texas Dairy Products Instuitute, and for 18 years was a director of the Texas College of Arts and Industry. He was a director of the First Natl. Bank and a ruling elder of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Gar was an ardent flyer, having graduated from the Air Force Advanced Flying School in 1929, and con-tinued to fly until age 70.
During the war he was a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force. In 1935 Gar married Carolyn Adams Kampmann. She predeceased him, but their four children survive: Edward A., Garland M. Jr., Peggy Lasater Clark, and Ike K. The class extends sincere sympathy to Gar's family.
The Class of 1929

ALBERT EVANS WALKER '31
Albert E. Walker died in Elizabeth [Pa.] Hospital, on Nov. 14, 1997, of a breathing insufficiency. He was 88.
A lifelong resident of Elizabeth, for many years Al was employed by Sterling Varnish Co. in a sales capacity, and retired as director of sales of the Sterling Division of Reichold Chemical Inc. in 1970.
In 1942 Al joined the Navy in the Armed Guard and Port Director services, and served in the American, European, African, and Asiatic/Pacific theaters, retiring with the rank of lieutenant commander in Nov. l946.
In 1952 he married Mabel "Sue" Crane, whose father, brother, and uncle had all graduated from Princeton, and together Al and Sue were regulars at college and reunion functions. They had no children. Al was an avid fisherman, a stalwart golfer, and an ardent world traveler, and is sadly missed by his widow, Sue, to whom the class sents its deepest sympathy.
The Class of 1931

JOHN KIRKMAN GURNEY '34
Johnny Gurney, formerly managing partner and vice-chairman of the board of Estabrook & Co. in NYC and a resident of Ponte Vedra, Fla., since 1977, died Dec. 7, 1997. He was 87.
John was also a board member of GreenPoint Financial Corp. and Greenwood Cemetery, in Brooklyn. A former resident of Garden City, N.Y., where he grew up, he was a nephew of Ralph Kirkman '07, a cousin of Alex Kirkman (who died in 1989), and a brother-in-law (and college roommate) of Bill Cruikshank (who died in 1985) by virtue of Bill's having married John's sister Esther, known as Essie.
Not long ago Johnny summed up his life in retirement: "Don't do any work. But two boards I was on have by-laws that allow old, retired guys to attend meetings if they don't say anything. For that they pay. For that I go."
Surviving are John's wife of almost 61 years, Jane Peterkin Gurney; one daughter, two sons, two sisters, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. To them we offer our sincere sympathies.
The Class of 1934

ROBERT MILLER '37 *40
Fabulous history professor Bob Miller died Oct. 23, 1997, unmarried.
At Peddie he was on the baseball, basketball, tennis, and track teams, and was a sports manager. At Princeton he majored in history and graduated with honors, having been on the freshman swimming and baseball teams and the basketball team.
He was lured back to Princeton for MA and PhD degrees, had an assistant instructorship at Hun, and taught at CCNY before four years as a s/sgt in the Army Signal Corps, with travels in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany.
Next, he was an instructor of history for 39 years at Temple U., where he won a coveted award, the Lindbach Award for Distinguished Teaching, and retired emeritus in 1982 without having published a single book or article. Instead, he taught: "a small, grizzled, casually dressed, and utterly self-effacing man who presented American history dispassionately, but with such analytical opportunity and challenge--to discover learning."
He was always a world traveler, testing his remarkable fitness and endurance on incredibly long hikes in China and Japan, the South Pacific, Australia, Africa, and Europe. In retirement he tape recorded a variety of books for use by the blind. He continued his walks from home and was struck by a car on a rainy night between Pottstown and Downington.
The Class of 1937

JOSEPH ROBERT FOX '39
Bob died Aug. 7, 1997, in Dover, Del., his home ever since he set up his medical practice there in 1951.
Although Bob majored in architecture, he elected to enter Jefferson Medical College in the fall of 1939. After his residency there, the Navy called him to duty as a lieutenant on the medical staff of the 5th Marine Division. He served in the Pacific and was with the occupation forces in Japan. He was also later recalled to active duty in the Korean War. Finally, in 1951, he and Jane Jarrett, whom he had married in 1946, were able to settle down in Dover and launch both family and career. He maintained a combined eye, ear, nose, and throat private practice until he retired in 1986. For many years he also conducted a clinic for the State Board of Health. In spite of his active medical responsibilities, he found time to use his architectural training by designing a medical office building in 1956, as well as his family residence in 1960. And of course he gave time and talent to any number of community organizations. After open-heart surgery in 1990 he returned to light work and a little tennis.
Jane and their daughter, two sons, and two grandsons all survive. We share their sense of loss and offer them our sincere sympathy.
The Class of 1939

JAMES HOLLAND DAVIS '43
Jim died on Mar. 12, 1997, while vacationing in Boca Grande, Fla. He was 76.
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., he was a graduate of Deerfield Academy before matriculating at Princeton.
After college, Jim worked as a navigator for Pan-Africa, Ltd., which established air routes through Africa. He also acted in the same capacity for the African Orient division of Pan-Am, flying equipment and personnel during WWII.
Jim retired as chairman of Porter Paint Co. in Louisville in 1988, following two stints totaling 20 years with the firm. From 1954-68, he served as v.p. and general manager of Devoe and Reynolds Co.
Away from the office, Jim was very active on many corporate and not-for-profit boards, trade associations, and the like.
In Jim's second home, Chatham, Mass., he was able to indulge his passion for bluewater sailing. Other interests included aviation and hot-air ballooning.
Jim is survived by his wife, the former Peggy Porter; a son, William H.; a daughter, Lisa Davis Macfarlane; six grandchildren; a niece and two nephews.
To the entire family, we offer our deepest sympathies.
The Class of 1943

EDWARD W. SHELDON II '44
Edward Sheldon died on June 14, 1997, at West Park Hospital in Cody, Wyo. He was 74.
He prepared at Lawrenceville and left Princeton in 1941 for civilian pilot training in California, where he attended Stanford U. He then enlisted as a flight cadet, became a flight instructor, and was discharged from the Army as a second lieutenant. He joined Bowery Savings Bank, later moved to Francis I. DuPont & Co. as a stock broker, and in 1951 began 15 years with Harris Upham, & Co. as a registered representative dealing in securities and commodities.
As a partner in Dal'Bairn Cattle Co., of Pine Plains, N.Y., Ed became interested in the breeding and showing of registered Black Angus and at that time was also v.p. and director of Sal-Lou Groves in Florida.
In 1946 he married Edna Tildon, and the couple lived in Mount Kisko, N.Y., for 30 years before relocating in 1976 to Vero Beach, Fla., where he was active in volunteer work in the medical field. He is survived by his wife, Edna; his sons, Raymond and Edward III; his daughter, Nina; two granddaughters, and two great-granddaughters. To them, we extend our deep sympathy.
The Class of 1944

HENRY R. SMEDLEY '44
Henry Smedley died on Sept. 2, 1997, at his home in Watchung, N.J., after a long illness. He was 75.
He came to us from Haverford and West-town Schools. At Princeton, he roomed in Blair with Joe Quay, was active in the Glee Club and choir, and majored in chemical engineering. His club was Cloister Inn.
Hank graduated in 1943 and then enlisted in the Navy, where he spent two and a half years mostly on a destroyer in the Pacific. After his discharge as a lieutenant j.g., he briefly joined the family retail coal and oil business in Ardmore, Pa., then spent one and a half years in Delaware working as a chemical engineer for Dupont before finding his niche in the oil business. In 1949 he joined the Tidewater Associated Oil Co., which later merged with Scully Oil and then Texaco Oil, from which he retired after 35 years, mostly spent in Manhattan. Henry suffered a severe stroke in 1982.
In 1954 he married Anne Jane Cleaver, who survives him. To Anne and to his sons, Henry and Jonathan; his daughter, Deborah; his brother, Walter '42, and two grandsons, we extend our deep sympathy.
The Class of 1944

RICHARD K. ROLLE '46
Dick died of a stroke at his longtime home in Red Bank, N.J., on Nov. 2, 1997, after a year of battling multiple illnesses.
Dick was born in Chicago, lived in Cincinnati, and moved to Yonkers, N.Y., graduating from Roosevelt H.S. He entered Prince-ton in Sept. 1942. He served in the Army Air Corps from Mar. 1943-Sept. 1945. This included several months as a POW in Germany, recovering from severe burns incurred when the B-24 of which he was navigation officer was shot down on New Year's Eve 1944. After the war, as the only survivor of his plane's crew, Dick traveled about the U.S. to meet and console the families of its other members. This was typical of his lifelong kindness.
After returning to Princeton, Dick majored in economics, was a member of Cottage Club, and graduated in 1949. His career was principally as a financial analyst with major banks and investment companies, specializing in the health and chemical industries. The first few years were spent in Europe, where he met and married Loretta Butcher, a native Chicagoan, who predeceased him in 1973. Their daughter, Kathleen, died in infancy. They are survived by son Richard C. '77. To him, the Class of '46 offers its deepest sympathy.
Aptly, Rolle rhymes with jolly. Although Dick's life was marred by more than anyone's fair share of tragedies and illness, he never ceased to be a cheerful friend, dedicated Princetonian, and loyal classmate. We miss his ever-present smile.
The Class of 1946



paw@princeton.edu