Memorials - January 26, 2000
John Booth Stevens '29
Johnnie died on March 8, 1999.
He prepared for college at Culver and Lawrenceville. At Princeton he was on the swimming and golf teams, and belonged to Charter Club. His roommate was S. S. Preston.
Johnnie's business career was in a family-owned steel specialty business, of which he became pres. He was an accomplished photographer, with a darkroom in his house. His camera was always active during his extensive travels.
He belonged to the Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park, Ill., and was active in the work of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church.
In 1934 Johnnie married Louise Heuer. He is survived by their son, William, and daughters Anne Martin and Elizabeth. The class extends sincere sympathy to the members of Johnnie's family.
The Class of 1929
William P. Davis III '31
Bill Davis was born in Philadelphia Dec. 29, 1909, and died Oct. 12, 1999, of complications associated with Parkinson's disease. Except for WWII, he spent his entire life in the Philadelphia area.
He attended Chestnut Hill Academy and Penn Charter School. At Princeton, he was on the water polo and lacrosse teams, and a member of Triangle Club and Tiger Inn. His father was William P. Davis Jr. 1896.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Bill "completed a classic climb up the corporate ladder at First Pennsylvania Banking and Trust Co., rising from the investment analysis department in 1931 to vice-chairman of the board before he retired in 1974." He then worked 10 years as Drexel U.'s v.p. for public relations.
During WWII, he was in the Office of Strategic Services assigned to the Mediterranean and China theaters. For his five years of service, Bill received the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Order of the British Empire, and the Chinese Order of Yuri Hui. He was discharged a col.
He served as director, trustee or chairman of various service organizations, and was a member of the Princeton Club of Philadelphia. He was an avid golfer.
Surviving are his wife of 59 years, Phoebe Harding, one son, Henry A. '65, and one sister. The class extends its deepest sympathy to the entire family.
The Class of 1931
James Gordon Taylor '33
Gordie was born in Louisville, Ky., Dec. 18, 1908. He died in Alexander City, Ala., Aug. 14, 1999. He was 90.
Gordie came to Princeton from the Hill School. In college he was on the swimming and pistol teams, and was a member of the Cannon Club. He roomed in Pyne Hall with Frank L. Tettemer for all four years. He did graduate work in insurance at the U. of Houston, where he earned his CLU.
Gordie spent his career with Travelers Insurance Co., finally moving to his boyhood home of Birmingham as state manager.
An avid golfer all his life, he was past pres. of Alabama Seniors Golf Assn., and a member of the Country Club of Birmingham and Willow Point Country Club, Alexander City. He was a member of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Birmingham.
During WWII, commissioned as a lieutenant, Gordie served as a gunnery officer in the North and South Atlantic, Italy, North Africa, and the South Pacific.
On Dec. 27, 1933, Gordie married Jane Kirk Lyle, his boyhood sweetheart, who was known by many of classmates because she was Gordie's guest at houseparties. She died in 1990.
He is survived by a son, James W. III, a daughter, Kirk Taylor Watts, four grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
The Class of 1933
John Sergeant Wise '37
Surgeon Johnny Wise died Oct. 24, 1999. His wife, Sonia ("she was foolish enough to marry me and my life is full again") survives, as do daughters Barbara and Beverley by his first wife, and eight grandchildren.
At Hun Johnny was active in crew, fencing, and the yearbook, and was secy. of his class. At Princeton he majored in biology and graduated with honors. He was a member of the fencing team four years, the Princeton Hun School Club, and Quadrangle.
His medical training was at Philadelphia's U. of Pennsylvania, with an internship at Presbyterian Hospital. Having been in ROTC, he entered the Army Medical Corps as a 1st lt., and came out a major after service with a medical battalion with combat troops in Ireland and Germany. He received four battle stars.
He taught anatomy at U. of Pennyslvania Medical School and served as surgeon at Presbyterian Hospital. Since 1950, he was medical staff pres. and chief of surgery a hospital in Trenton until he retired. He was then able to spend more time at his home in St. Bart's in the French West Indies, including rebuilding after damage from Hurricane Luis in 1995.
The Class of 1937
Thomas Hartley Maren '38 *90
Tom died Aug. 15, 1999, at his home in Salisbury Cove, Maine. He attended public schools in Mount Vernon, N.Y., and entered Princeton at age 16.
Torn between science and literature, he ultimately earned a bachelor's in chemistry. He also developed friendships with English department faculty that lasted through the years.
Upon graduation, Tom entered the Princeton graduate school for work toward a master's in English literature. WWII created a great need for chemists, and he returned to the field doing research in tropical diseases. (His MA was awarded belatedly in 1990.)
After the war, Tom entered Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. His subsequent career as a research scientist was spent at the U. of Florida, where he became chairman of the Dept. of Pharmacology. Summers were spent at Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory. He received the Distinguished Service Award from our class in 1969.
His research resulted in a glaucoma medication marketed by Merck. Royalties enabled him to become a philanthropist, and Princeton, Johns Hopkins, and the U. of Florida greatly benefited from his generosity.
In addition to being a distinguished scientist, he was just plain fun.
He is survived by his wife, Emily, three sons, three step-children, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. To all of them the class extends its deepest sympathy.
The Class of 1938
Henry Dan Piper '39
Professor emeritus of English, biographer of F. Scott Fitzgerald '17, and former dean of liberal arts and sciences at Southern Illinois U.-Carbondale, Dan died July 25, 1999, at his home in Murphysboro, Ill., after a long illness.
His distinguished career always reflected the twin interests he revealed as an undergraduate. A chemistry major, his senior thesis earned a national prize for best undergraduate work on paint chemistry. Yet his spare time was devoted to writing for the Prince and the Nassau Lit. He started work with duPont and during WWII supervised a shift manufacturing TNT, then moved to the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb in Illinois and Hanford, Wash.
In 1946, he began graduate work at Princeton in English, then switched his career to teaching American literature both here and abroad, along the way holding many distinguished fellowships. He loved the southern Illinois country, and for the centennial of SIU in 1969, he and two colleagues created Land Between the Rivers, celebrating the people and the history of the region. It sold out in its first day of publication.
To his wife, Roberta Bicknell, and their two sons, Andrew and Jonathan '81, we offer our sincere sympathy.
The Class of 1939
William Mcdougall Kite '45
Bill Kite died Aug. 28, 1999, at Christ Hospital in his hometown of Cincinnati after courageously battling health problems for several years.
Bill entered Princeton from Glendale [Ohio] H.S., where he lettered in football, basketball, and baseball. At Princeton he joined Charter Club and played varsity football. Shortly before his death, he joined his family in watching a tape of his performance in the 1943 game against Yale.
After earning his AB in politics, he served as commanding officer of an LCI with the amphibious force of the Navy's seventh fleet. He then earned a law degree from Harvard in 1949. In 1950, Bill married Margaret Wulsin of Cincinnati and was recalled for service in the Korean War.
Bill was a founding partner of the law firm of Cohen, Todd, Kite & Stanford in Cincinnati, where he practiced for 43 years. He served as mayor of Indian Hill, a Cincinnati suburb; he was an elder of the Presbyterian Church, pres. of Planned Parenthood, director of the historical society, and on boards of many other civic groups. The Cincinnati Enquirer said Bill "loved sharing belly laughs with his friends and making connections with his community."
In addition to Peggy, Bill is survived by his sons, William Jr., Matt, and Tom; daughter, Margaret Armendariz; sister Annette DeWitt; and seven grandchildren, to all of whom the class extends its deep sympathy.
The Class of 1945
Bernd Phelps Rose '46
Bernie died June 3, 1999, at his home in Grand Junction, Colo., after a long battle with cancer.
Born in Pittsburgh, son of J. Bernd Rose '15, he attended Sewickley Academy and the Taft School. He majored in history at Princeton, played football, hockey, and swimming, and was a Triangle participant. Joining the army in 1943, Bernd spent time in Europe with the combat engineer corps. In 1944 he married his hometown sweetheart, Ann Chapin Heumann.
In 1948, the Roses moved back to Sewickley, where Bernie became head of the family insurance agency. He sold the business in 1969. He moved to Boca Raton, continuing in insurance for 23 years, finally retiring in 1988 in Grand Junction, Colo.
An avid outdoorsman, Bernie enjoyed years of golf, fishing, hiking, skiing, bird hunting, and camping with family and friends. He and Ann returned often to Princeton for games and reunions.
He is survived by his wife; their three daughters, Helen King, Ann, and Caroline; and eight grandchildren, to whom the class extends its deepest sympathy.
The Class of 1946
William L. Knappenberger III '47
Bill died on May 5, 1999, in Pittsburgh.
He was born and raised in Vandergrift, Pa. After graduating from high school, he matriculated at Michigan State U. as a premedical student. His studies were interrupted by WWII, during which he served as a ward attendant at Tilton General Hospital.
After military service, he entered Princeton and graduated with an associate of arts degree. Bill earn his MD at New York U. in 1949 and interned at St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh from 1949-50.
Before beginning his residency, he practiced privately in the West Virginia coal fields. From 1952-54, Bill completed his residency in internal medicine at St. Francis Hospital and at the Veterans Hospital in Aspinwall, Pa. Thereafter, Bill was in private practice until he retired in 1986. During these years he was on the staff at Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh. The Allegheny County [Pa.] Medical Society was among his several memberships in medical associations.
Bill was involved with the local school board, the Allegheny County Employee Health Service, and the Sera-Tec Plasmapheresis Collection Center.
His wife of 48 years, Mary Olevniczak, died in 1995. To his sons, George and William; daughters, Jane Phillips and Mary Pelton; and his seven grandchildren, the class extends its deepest sympathy.
The Class of 1947
Robert H. "Bob" Vaterlaus '47
Bob Vaterlaus was a caring and quiet man, whose cherished friendships lasted long and ran deep. He died peacefully of cancer at home in Orinda, Calif., on Oct. 16, 1999.
Born Robert Hans Vaterlaus, son of Hans and Claire Vaterlaus, in Yokohama, Japan, in 1926, he grew up in Tuckahoe, N.Y., where he attended Roosevelt H.S. before entering Princeton. After serving with the US Army in Germany, he returned to complete his degree in engineering supplemented by study at Columbia U.
Many of his 29 years working as a structural engineer with Kaiser Aluminum were spent in Australia, where he failed to pick up an accent, but acquired several authentic works of aboriginal art. Widely traveled, his concern for others extended into all quarters. As he said in '47's 40th yearbook entry, he "had always taken for granted that, upon leaving it, the world would be a little better off than when I entered it." After retiring in 1985, Bob continued to work as a consultant civil engineer, often collaborating with his architect son.
To Barbara, Bob's wife of 39 years; his sons, Richard and Robert; and his sister, Heidi Muller, the class extends its deepest sympathy, and joins in celebrating a warmly remembered life.
The Class of 1947
George Richard Lathan '48
George Lathan died Sept. 22, 1999. He was 76. A longtime resident of Charleston, S.C., George's early years were in Walton, N.Y., where he graduated from the local high school. At Princeton he earned a BNS degree in economics, played in the band, and was prominent in Terrace Club activities.
George joined the Navy following graduation. He and Esther (known as Kitty) were married in Dec. 1949. They lived in Japan and Newport, R.I., as well as at other naval bases around the world, producing a son and daughter along the way.
By 1973, they had settled in Charleston, and George was a salesman for VWR Scientific. Subsequently, he entered the real estate field and had his own title research company. His interest in bridge, golf, and politics continued into his retirement. His devotion to Princeton was constant over the years.
To Kitty, George Jr., and Carol, the class extends its deepest condolences.
The Class of 1948
Richard V. D. Luft '53
Dick Luft died approximately 18 years ago following a lengthly illness. He was born Oct. 12, 1931, and graduated from Mount Lebanon H.S.
While at Princeton, he majored in history and belonged to Elm Club. He withdrew at the end of his junior year.
Dick later became associated with Jones & Loughlin Steel Co. in Pittsburgh, where he was a lifelong resident. He married but had no children. Dick had an older and a younger brother.
Tom Lind, a former roommate and fellow Elm member, was most helpful in supplying what information we have been able to obtain. Tom remembers Dick as "a fun guy" who was "big" into pranks. We regret the lack of specific details, and we mourn the passing of our high-spirited friend.
The Class of 1953
Arthur G. Trudeau '53
With sadness we record the death of Arthur, formerly called Art, several years ago. The date and location are not known. Born in Honolulu, Arthur graduated from Washington & Lee H.S.
At Princeton, Arthur was in the Catholic Club and a member of Quadrangle. A roommate, Dick Crampton, recalled that Arthur was interested in interior design and had an off-campus job with a decorating firm. Arthur left Princeton after two years and graduated from Gettysburg College.
In the '80s, Bob Hayman, a resident of Seattle, would occasionally see Arthur, who lived in LA. At one time Arthur was associated with The Television Bureau in LA. Bob recollects that Arthur married, had a son and daughter, and was divorced.
When Bob last heard from Arthur, he was retired and living in Santa Fe. Further attempts to gain additional information have been in vain. We thank Dick and Bob for the details they were able to provide. To Arthur's children, we extend sincere condolences.
The Class of 1953
James R. F. Kunkemueller '61
Jim Kunkemueller died of progressive supranuclear palsy on June 14, 1999, at the Newton & Wellesley [Mass.] Alzheimer's Center after an eight-year struggle.
Born and raised in East Orange, N.J., and moving to Montclair in 1956, Kunks came to Princeton from Newark Academy. At Princeton, he was an electrical engineering major, and a member of Dial Lodge and the heavyweight crew. His senior year roommates were Dave McEwen and John Pasalis. Since graduation we've seen Kunks regularly at major reunions, and he maintained close friendships with many classmates, including his roomies Stan Panosian and John Bjorkholm.
After service to NATO with Hughes Aircraft in Germany, Kunks attended Harvard business school, graduating in 1965. Following a stint with the then-fledgling Boston Consulting Group and the Boston Co., he joined Analog Devices in 1976 as treas. In 1986 he founded Dover Financial Consulting, which he ran until the onset of his illness in 1990. A dedicated athlete all his adult life, he was a cyclist and a runner, completing the Boston Marathon four times.
While at Harvard, Kunks courted and married Pamela Schluter, whose devotion to him during his illness was, in a word, extraordinary. Pam survives him, as do his children, Laura '87 and Andrew; brother, Henry; and a grandson. We join them in mourning his passing.
The Class of 1961
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