February 13, 2002: Memorials
Stuart h. Steinbrink ’27
Stu Steinbrink died on Oct. 22, 2001. He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and remained a New Yorker for his entire life. He came to Princeton from Polytechnic Preparatory Country Day School, where he graduated cum laude. At Princeton he was a member of the Law Club, Whig Hall, and the Polity Club, and served on the executive committee of the Jewish Student Congregation — interests that characterized his life after Princeton. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
Stu enjoyed a successful career in the law, leading or serving in several distinguished law firms. When he retired in 1984, he was senior corporate attorney for Gulf & Western Industries, Inc. He was devoted to local charities and social service organizations, especially the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York and its affiliates; was secretary and director, Brooklyn Bureau of Social Service and Children’s Aid Society; served as a delegate to the White House Conference on Education and as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Assn.; and assisted with Princeton’s fundraising.
He is survived by Ruth, his second wife; son Richard and daughter Barbara, from his first wife, Carolyn, who died in 1961; nine grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren, to all of whom the class extends its condolences.
The Class of 1927
Edwin Boykin Cromwell ’31
Eddie was born Nov. 13, 1909, in Manila, and died Sept. 22, 2001. He was 91. Before he became of school age, his family moved to West Point, Miss. While there he entered Mercersburg and stayed until graduation. Then he entered Princeton, where he soon earned numerals on the water polo team, class football team, and became a member of Campus Club.
After graduation, Eddie entered MIT, earned an architecture degree, and shortly thereafter picked his future home, Little Rock, Ark. His firm was Ginnocchio-Cromwell & Associates, where he started as a partner, and ended up as chair emeritus. He was a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects and chair of its scholarship fund, and his directorships included the Arkansas Opera Theatre and the Arkansas Territorial Foundation. And he found time to chair in 1979 the PHYD alumni lunch for Pres. Bowen.
Eddie was predeceased by his wife of many years, Henrietta, and is survived by three daughters, Gertrude, Mildred, and Patricia, and six grandchildren. The class extends its deepest sympathy to the family.
The Class of 1931
DONALD RICHARDS LIVINGSTON ’31
Don was born Apr. 30, 1909, in Cordele, Ga., and died at the Memorial Health Medical Center in Savannah on July 29, 2001. He was 92.
He prepared at Georgia Military Academy and then Lawrenceville. After graduation, he entered Princeton, where he gained numerals on the freshman golf team, followed by the varsity golf team and the Varsity Club. He was also a member of Tiger Inn.
After college, he became president of the Savannah Cotton Exchange and Savannah Warehouse & Compress Co., until they were sold during the war. He was also president of Southern Fertilizer & Chemical Co., Coloraine Homes, and Seaview Development Co. In 1965 he became a director of Georgia State Savings Bank and Savannah Bank & Trust Co., and he donated the 47-acre site for the Savannah Country Day School.
On the lighter side, he belonged to the Society of Colonial Wars, F.&A.M., and the Oglethorpe-Savannah Golf Club, the Century and Cotillion Clubs, and St. Andrew’s Society.
Don is survived by two daughters, Mary Ann and Ethel, one brother, Lorton S., and four grandchildren. The class extends its deepest sympathy to the entire family.
The Class of 1931
Warren Lott Cruikshank ’38
Warren Cruikshank died June 9, 2001, at Sun City Center in Florida after a brief illness. He was 84.
Warren prepared for Princeton at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. At Princeton, he lived in Blair Tower with Dick Shaffer, Doug Bellin, and C. H. Huvelle, classmates who became lifelong friends.
After college, he joined the Cruikshank Co., founded in 1794 by his great-great-great-grandfather, William Cruikshank. For many years he was responsible for the company’s operations, and oversaw the firm’s 1969 merger with Horace S. Ely & Co., creating Ely-Cruikshank Co., Inc.
Warren was a civic leader both in NYC and Maplewood, N.J., where he lived with his family for many years. He served on the board of governors of the Princeton Club of New York, and helped secure the W. 43rd St. property when the club relocated. He also served as vice president of the Class of ’38, and was on the Elm Club’s board for more than a quarter-century.
Warren is survived by his wife, Kathleen Holmes Cruikshank, his daughter, Gail Livingstone, sons Jeffrey L. and Peter L., and nine grandchildren.
The Class of 1938
HERBERT DOANE VAN SCIVER ’38 *39
Herb died Aug. 31, 2001, at Bryn Mawr Terrace nursing home outside Philadelphia. He prepared at Trenton [N.J.] H.S. At Princeton he majored in electrical engineering, graduating with honors, and added a master’s in 1939.
In our 50 Years Later book, Herb observed that he was increasingly proud of his Princeton education, “especially as I see the lack of depth exhibited by current graduates of many other colleges.”
Herb joined the Budd Co. in 1939 and remained there for his entire career. With two others he formed the Budd Nuclear Energy Division, and later he established the Budd Materials Research Laboratory, of which he was director when he retired in 1982. He was granted 19 patents in industrial process control and computer design.
Herb was a member of St. Asaph’s Episcopal Church in Bala Cynwyd for more than 50 years. He loved photography, and judged science fairs at the Franklin Institute.
Herb’s wife, Eleanor, died in 1974. He is survived by his daughter, Gretchen Losson, and three grandchildren, to all of whom the class sends its sincere sympathy.
The Class of 1938
Paul Ewers Machemer ’40
Paul died Oct. 24, 1999, of multiple myeloma at the age of 80 in Camden, Maine. Born in West Virginia, he spent his early years in Paoli, Pa., where his father, the Rev. Paul ’16, was pastor of the Presbyterian Church.
At Princeton he resided in Edwards, was active on 150-lb. crew, and gained high honors in chemistry. After marrying his college steady, Mary Carona Anderson, he earned a master’s at Penn before going to the Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge during WW II. After returning to Penn for his PhD and teaching six years at Villanova U., Paul accepted appointment to Colby College in Maine. The students there knew him as an exacting and effective teacher, and affectionately termed his freshman course “Machemistry.” He became chair of the chemistry department in 1978.
Losing Mary to cancer, he met Grace Skinner Page, and married her in 1969. When both retired from teaching, they moved to a coastal home at Port Clyde. There he enjoyed independent living as an outdoorsman, woodworker, hunter, and avid sailor with occasional interludes of mountain climbing and camping in the West and Alaska.
To his wife, Grace, his three children, five stepchildren, their spouses, and 14 grandchildren, the class extends heartfelt sympathy.
The Class of 1940
James Rennick Williams ’46
Jim Williams died on Sept. 20, 2001, at his lifetime hometown of Lockport, N.Y. He joined the class in 1942, majoring in history, and after Marine Corps service in the Pacific and Japan, he graduated in June 1947. He joined the venerable family department store business, Williams Brothers Co., where he remained, becoming president, throughout his 30-year career.
Active in trade associations and community activities, Jim became president of National Retail Merchants Assn. for some 19 years. He served on the board of the Princeton U. Store. With his wife, Joan Pettit, he restored a 134-year-old home in Lockport, where they raised two sons, James R. Jr., and Robert M. He is also survived by his sister, Margaret, as well as four grandchildren and two grandsons. To all of them, the class extends deep sympathy on the loss of a loyal classmate.
The Class of 1946
JESSE ROFFE WIKE II ’48
Jess Wike died on Sept. 10, 2001, at his home in Berwyn, Pa., of liver cancer.
After earning an MA and PhD from Penn, and teaching at the Wharton School from 1955-62, Jess spent his professional life as an investment counselor at Cooke and Bisler, Inc. He became senior partner, and when he retired in 1993, he was CEO. He served for 40 years on the board of West Pharmaceuticals.
Jess served on the boards of many cultural and educational institutions including the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Curtis Institute of Music, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and was associated with the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
A native of Roaring Spring, Pa., he came to us from the Episcopal Academy at Overbrook. At Princeton he was in SPIA, graduating with honors, and was in Quadrangle.
In the mid-1960s, Jess met, courted, and married his British-born bride, Penelope. “After 36 years of carefully developed hedonism, I am happily settled in a family life,” he wrote in 1973.
To Penelope and their four children, Timothy, David, Mark, and daughter Zara Tuglu, the class shares their profound loss. Jess was a loyal and enthusiastic classmate.
The Class of 1948
Henry Collin Stambaugh ’50
Hank Stambaugh died Jan. 23, 1992. Not much is known of his later years except that he lived in central Indiana and was last reported working with Logansport Machine in 1985.
Hank was born on June 8, 1928, in Pittsburgh, the son of Harry F. Stambaugh ’02, the second oldest father of the 139 Princeton sons in our class. He arrived in 1946 with the large Exeter delegation, roomed with Bob Fowler and Bill Clarkson from his home town of Sewickley, Pa., became a member of Tiger Inn, and majored in the School of Public and International Affairs.
After Navy duty that took him from the Mediterranean to Korea, Hank graduated from the Harvard Business School in 1955. His career encompassed a variety of financial and marketing jobs, with emphasis on building sales forces and distributor networks. The companies he worked for included Corning, Imperial Eastman of Chicago, and several smaller firms. A heavy travel schedule precluded much community activity and pursuit of his early interest in golf, flying, and piano, though he did serve a term as president of local Toastmasters.
Hank never married. We are unaware of any surviving family members.
The Class of 1950
William Arthur Babson II ’51
Bill succumbed to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) Aug. 17, 2001. He was 76.
His father was Clifford Rea Babson ’03. After serving in the Army, Bill attended Clark U. for two years before coming to Princeton, where he was an art and archaeology major and a member of Campus Club. His roommates were Dave Hill ’51 and Bill Ahrens ’50.
In July 1952 he married Helen Deane, who survives him along with their son, William III, and their daughters, Sarah Babson, Mary B. Fuhrer ’79, and Anne B. Casello. He is also survived by his sister, Katharine, the wife of Clinton G. Denny ’43.
Bill was an industrial engineer and first worked for INCO; in 1966 he went into banking, retiring in 1990 from Shawmut, now FleetBoston.
The goal closest to his heart was to motivate youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds, introducing them to fishing, hiking, natural history, and environmental protection. He had recently completed his first book, Re-exploring Urban Wilderness Close to Home.
The class has lost a gentle, modest man of integrity and of principle. We join his family in mourning their loss.
The Class of 1951
Benjamin Moore Belcher Jr. ’57
Ben died Oct. 3, 2001, at Bangor Maine Hospital. He was born in NYC and graduated from the Taft School before Princeton. Following his Princeton graduation, he earned a law degree from the U. of Virginia.
At Princeton, Ben majored in history. He joined Key & Seal, and played softball, hockey, and sang in the Glee Club. His senior-year roommates were Bill Guilt, Dick Clement, Jim Keen, Pete Burke, Mike Absher, and Keith Neilson.
He retired as senior vice president and director of the Benjamin Moore Paint Co. in 1999. He maintained homes in Bar Harbor, Maine, and Naples, Fla. There he was active in the Congregational churches of each city, especially in their choirs.
Singing was a great enjoyment. In addition to choirs, Ben sang in the Mt. Desert Summer Chorale and was active in a large number of charities in Maine and Florida.
Ben is survived by his wife, Diana, a son, Ben III, a daughter, Allyson Sarkis, a granddaughter, Shivaun, a brother, Ward, and two sisters, Jane and Sara. To all his family, the Class of ’57 sends its sincere condolences.
The Class of 1957
Catherine Fairfax MacRae ’00
Bright and beautiful, kind and gentle, Catherine “Cat” MacRae was the youngest Princetonian to be a victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center attack.
The daughter of Cameron MacRae ’63, Cat attended the Brearley School prior to Princeton. At Brearley, Cat played squash and field hockey, was editor of the school newspaper, and won the Arnold Mathematics Prize.
At Princeton, she majored in economics, with a certificate in finance, and graduated magna cum laude. She was a member of Ivy Club, played on the squash team, and was treasurer of Pi Phi.
After graduation, Cat worked briefly at Goldman Sachs & Co., and was then lured away to Fred Alger Management Co. Cat had recently passed the first level of the chartered financial analyst exam. More important, she and longtime beau Andrew Caspersen ’99 were beginning to contemplate marriage.
A great many members of the Classes of ’00 and ’99 attended Cat’s memorial service in Southampton, N.Y., in October. There is a Cat MacRae Fund to honor her life and memory; donations may be sent to Cameron MacRae, c/o LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, 125 West 55 St., NY, NY 10019.
The class extends its sympathy to Cat’s father, her mother, Ann, her sister, Annie, and to Andrew.
The Class of 2000
