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Mini-reunion
We lost Bob on February 3, 2026. Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, he came to us from Linsey Military Institute in Wheeling. At Princeton he majored in Chemical Engineering, played varsity football, took his meals at Cap and Gown, and was a member of the Princeton chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineering. A member of the NROTC, he was also in the Anchor and Chair Society.
A career Navy pilot, he was decorated for his service in Vietnam with a Bronze Star with Combat V, two Air Medals, and other awards. He retired with the rank of Commander and relocated permanently to North Chesterfield, VA, near Richmond. In retirement Bob was active in biking, running, triathalons and hiking. He served as a scoutmaster for 15 years.
Bob is survived by Chris, his wife of 38 years, and two stepsons, Thomas Allison and Benjamin Allison. Posted 10/3/26 |
Robert B. Ryland
Alan died October 7, 2017 in Baltimore, MD after years of declining health. Alan and his older sister were raised in Lakewood, NJ by their Orthodox Jewish mother and egg dealer father. The family was comfortable like the majority of merchants in Lakewood, the tiny winter resort that sent four students in two years to Princeton. At Lakewood High School, Alan was class president, member of the Honor Society and student council, and literary magazine editor.
As an Economics major at Princeton, Alan wrote about the Teamsters, socialized mainly at Cloister Inn, and roomed with fellow LHS grad Bill Karjane. He wrestled and played lightweight football for a year each.
After graduation Alan briefly sold stock, analyzed companies for Chase Manhattan Bank and MGM, and bought Carey Limousines. In 1973 Alan's new company began financing fashion designers Ralph Lauren and Clovis Ruffin. He continued to prosper after the company's 1979 bankruptcy, but his 2000 departure from its successor ended his Seventh Avenue career as well as his Greenwich, CT family life.
Alan was survived by two former wives, three daughters, and four grandchildren.
Posted 10/3/26 |
Alan S. Ginsberg
In attendance, dressed in our reunion costumes (at Bob's request) were Doris & Len Berton
Pictured at left, at the reception which followed at Bob's daughter's home, are Doris and Len, Tamara and Bob, Joe, Ev, George, Maureen, Jon and Patty.
Posted 9/24/26 |
A Celebration of Life for Mary Pickens, Bob's late wife, was held on September 26, 2026 at the Nassau Presbyterian Church.
Fred, of Glencoe, Illinois, died on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, at 86.
Fred was born on December 15, 1939, to Juvannah and Fred Bishop in Highland Park, Illinois. From an early age, he was surrounded by his large extended family, including aunts, uncles, and a crowd of cousins, all of whom knew him affectionately as “Bud.” Summers on the family farm near Palmer, Iowa, gave Fred a lifetime of happy memories, a deep fondness for the state of Iowa, and, by his own account, no practical farm skills whatsoever.
Fred left home to attend Wayland Academy in Wisconsin, where he earned varsity letters – and later a place in the Wayland Academy Athletic Hall of Fame – for managing the football team. He went on to Princeton University, where he was a member of the Texas Club, Orange Key, and Flying Club. He ate at Quadrangle Club and his senior roommates were Tasso, Jarman, Gardner, Barrett and Burrow. He then went on to Northwestern University Law School, graduating in 1965.
After law school, Fred began his career in commercial banking at Harris Bank in Chicago, where he was introduced to the two great loves of his life: his soon-to-be wife Stephanie Lagomarcino (a native Iowan) and advising businesses and their executive teams. Over the next five decades after leaving the bank, Fred and Stephanie built a full and joyful life together, raising dogs, helping privately held companies grow and prosper, and spending time with their children and grandchildren (often in precisely that order, as Fred’s daughters would lovingly joke).
Fred had a rare ability to forge strong personal bonds across his business relationships, and many of his clients and partners became lifelong friends, drawn to Fred’s integrity and keen business judgment. Fred also gave generously and faithfully of his time and resources to institutions that mattered deeply to him. His devotion to Wayland Academy lasted more than fifty years, including his many years of service on its Board of Trustees, where he continued as a Trustee Emeritus to his last days. He also has remained a longstanding supporter of the Stratford Festival, Princeton University (where he maintained sixty-five years of uninterrupted annual giving after graduation) and Northwestern Medicine. These commitments reflected the same qualities he brought to family and work: loyalty, stewardship, and a steady belief in helping worthy institutions endure.
Fred loved his family deeply and was adored by his three daughters, Meg, Kate, and Hilary, who cherished him until his last breath. Over the decades they and Steph experienced Fred’s joy for life and spirit of adventure during summers on South Padre Island, winter holidays in Snowbird and Solitude, Utah, and many trips abroad.
Fred is survived by his wife Stephanie; his three daughters, Meg Bishop Sullivan (Mark Sullivan), Kate Bishop Garside, and Hilary Bishop Scott (Sean Scott); and his nine grandchildren: William Crockford (Annie), Katherine Crockford, Quinn Crockford, Abaigeal Crockford, Clark Garside, Janet Garside, Emma Garside, Sean Alex Scott, and Thomas Scott.
Fred’s memorial service will be Saturday, September 19, at 1:30 p.m. at Kenilworth Union Church, Kenilworth, IL.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Family Service of Glencoe.
Posted 9/8/26
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Frederick E. Bishop
Born in Brooklyn, NY, Ed died on December 1, 2024, in Bethesda, MD.
There was no obituary. At Princeton, he played in the University Band and sang in and served as Music Director of the Tigertones. He took his meals at Campus Club.
We have very little information about his life, his only yearbook entry being on the occasion of our 25th. He was evidently divorced by then but had two sons, Joshua and Adam. After Princeton Ed earned his medical degree at NYU, followed by a career in pediatrics and infectious diseases, including stints at Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan, the University of Rochester Med School, and Albany (NY) Medical College. He must have then joined a Washington hospital or organization, because he died in Bethesda, MD.
Posted 9/5/26 |
On August 30th, Class President Bob Pickens and Vice-president Jon Hlafter represented the class at the 2026 Pre-rade welcoming the incoming freshman class of 2030.
Mary Roess Pickens passed away peacefully on the morning of Friday, July 10, 2026, surrounded by her family in Chautauqua, New York, just a few steps away from the lake she loved. Mary Elizabeth Roess was born in Oil City, Pennsylvania, on June 4, 1942, the fourth of five children born to Elizabeth Shortt Roess and Gustav Frederick Roess. As a child, Mary and her siblings Gus, Martha, Charles, and Christine lived between Winter Park, FL, and Chautauqua, NY. After graduating from Winter Park High, Mary began her college career at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, transferring her junior year after studying in Mexico City and finishing her degree at Baldwin Wallace College in the spring of 1964. Shortly thereafter, Mary went to work at the Department of Public Health at Yale University, where she met her husband Robert “Bob” Pickens '61, who was attending medical school there. Mary and Bob were married on the Yale campus on May 30, 1965, and after short stints living in Riverdale, NY, Park Ridge, NJ, and Norfolk, VA, Mary and Bob settled in Princeton in 1973 where they raised three children, Jennifer, Sara, and Matthew. Mary would call Princeton home for the rest of her life, over the years becoming a valued member of the community: an avid tennis player, a member of various faith communities including Westerly Road Church and the Jewish Center of Princeton, a member of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC), and an active volunteer for various causes. Mary and Bob volunteered as co-chairs of the Chautauqua Annual Fund from 2008-2009. Mary also served for many years distributing the Town Topics Christmas Fund to those in need, acting as a board member at Corner House and the Princeton YMCA, and participating in the Princeton interim homes program through which Mary and Bob housed multiple vulnerable teens. In April 2014, Mary received the Marie Matthews award at Corner House for service to the community, and the mayor of Princeton designated April 11, 2014, as “Mary Pickens Day.” Mary loved her time with treasured friends and family whether in Princeton, Chautauqua, North Carolina, Winter Park, or beyond. She had a passion for exploring the world with Bob through travel and always remembered fondly their long honeymoon in Europe, skiing and sailing trips, the Chautauqua exchange in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Tbilisi, Georgia, and time in Bangkok, Thailand, where their son Matt had lived as a Princeton-in-Asia fellow. Those who knew Mary called her “elegant,” “fun-loving,” “caring” — and to spend time with Mary was to feel energized and joyful (and often included enjoying an ice cream sundae, a Mary Jane candy, or a slice of fruit pie). Mary is survived by her beloved husband, Bob; her sister, Christine; her three children, Jennifer, Matthew, and Sara; her two sons-in-law, Justin and Tim; her daughter-in-law, Rebecca; and grandchildren, Charlie and his wife Emilia, Tom, Isabel, Lila, Julia, Will, Charlotte, Henry, Olivia, Liam, and Gavin; and devoted caretakers and friends, Betty, Sara, and Nettie. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mary’s honor to “The Mary R. Pickens Music Scholarship Fund” at the Chautauqua Foundation are appreciated. A memorial service will be held on September 19, 2026 at 11 a.m. at the Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton.
Posted 8/12/26 |
Mary R. Pickens
Phil died on February 2, 2026, in Wevertown, NY. Born in Teaneck, NJ, he came to us from George School. At Princeton he majored in Psychology and took his meals at Wilson Lodge.
After Princeton, Phil earned an M.S. at Columbia’s School of Journalism and for the first half of his working life was a journalist, with articles published in a number of national magazines.
After an M.S.W. from the Hunter Graduate School of Social Work in 1985, he became a psychotherapist in Manhattan.
In 2012, he and Barbara moved full-time to Wevertown in the Adirondacks. Over the years he was involved with the Nature Conservancy and the Adirondack Park Institute.
He is survived by his wife Barbara; daughters Dhalia and Joana, and their families, which include grandchildren.
Posted 6/10/26 |
Philip S. Ross
Bill died on January 6, 2026. The stepson of John F. Burket ‘38, he came to us from Phillips Exeter. At Princeton, he was a member of Whig-Clio and Triangle Club, but withdrew from the University in March of 1959. After working for a year, he graduated from Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture, following which he served in the Marine Corps.
Bill practiced architecture in San Francisco, retiring and closing his office in 1992. He then earned a certificate in Library Science and relocated to western North Carolina, where he had in part grown up, and worked for the Henderson County Public Library. He was a published author, writing Building As History: The Architecture of Ernie Stilwell.
So far as we know, he was never in touch with the University or the class.
There are no survivors of which we are aware.
Posted 6/9/26 |
William F. Mitchell
Tony died of cancer on August 16, 2023, in New Suffolk, NY. A son of the class of 1933, he was born in Glen Ridge, NJ, and grew up in Darien, CT, where he graduated from Darien High School. At Princeton he was an Architecture major, took his meals at Dial Lodge, and roomed with Bob Barrowclough.
He earned an MFA at Princeton before embarking on his career in architecture with Geddes Beecher Qualls Cunningham in Princeton. As a lifelong sailor he spent his summers in New Suffolk, where he participated in many races in the Northeast and was active in regional sailing organizations and yacht clubs. He retired to New Suffolk, where he was president of the New Suffolk School board for over 20 years.
Tony is survived by his wife Ellen, daughters Nicole and Rebecca, brother David, and their families, which include two grandchildren. Posted 6/9/26 |
James G. Dill, Jr.
John Edgar Curby Jr., a lifelong and proud St. Louisan, passed away on April 4, 2026 after a brief illness, surrounded by his family. He was 87. John was born in St. Louis to Elsie Ford and John Edgar Curby. He spent his early youth in the Central West End as a door-to-door candle salesman and intrepid adventurer who explored hidden corners of the city and Forest Park.
He graduated from St. Louis Country Day School and Princeton University, where he ate at Colonial Club, and then embarked on an exciting career in the Air Force and U.S. State Department with assignments in Turkey and Nicaragua.
He returned to St. Louis where he had a long career as a financial advisor before retiring in 2000. John devoted his time to his many hobbies including tennis, gardening, duck hunting, fly fishing, cooking delicious meals, finding the best new restaurant in town, supporting his community, and traveling around the world. He delighted in doing thorough trip research and planning (his itineraries were legendary) as much as taking the eventual trip itself. He visited more than 80 countries throughout his lifetime and had a few more destinations on his short list.
John was always happy when embarking on a travel adventure, enjoying a delicious meal with friends or pursuing an elusive trout in a clear mountain stream. But his happiest moments were always with his family. John leaves behind his wife of 32 years, Susan Curby, children Nancy Curby and Drew Curby (Amy), stepchildren Sally Manis and John Morris, sister Sally Johnston, Cousin Ted Simmons (Jane), grandchildren Grace (William) and Ford, great grandchild Noah and nieces and nephews and their children.
A memorial service took place at The Church of St. Michael and St. George in St. George's Chapel on Saturday, April 18 at 10:30 am. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to City Academy, 4175 N. Kingshighway Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63115.
Posted 4/28/26 |
Boone died on January 26, 2021, presumably in Phoenix, where he lived for many years. He was born and raised in Wise, Montana, and came to us from Beaverhead County High School. He left Princeton before we graduated, eventually earning a B.A. in English at the University of Montana.
Other than his entry in our tenth reunion yearbook, he never communicated with the class. Thus we know nothing about his career other than that he taught English composition in several venues and was a free-lance writer.
There are no known next of kin.
Posted 4/25/26 |
Boone Sparrow
Contee died on February 19, 2026, in Berkeley, CA.
Born in Asheville, NC, and raised in Baltimore, he came to us in a large contingent from the Landon School. At Princeton he majored in Philosophy, was a member of the Bric-a-Brac and the International Students Association, and took his meals at Key and Seal. He roomed with Bill Rough, Hal Lackey, Chuck Watson, Russ Tremaine, Dick Webster, Bill Buxton, Rich Palmer and Bill Radebaugh. After Princeton Contee studied at the University of the Pacific to earn a teaching certificate and taught English, Spanish and ESL, among other languages, in Latin America and the Bay Area, which does not come close to describing his interesting career. He was an influential language educator, author and publisher at the Command Performance Language Institute, of which he was a founder, at the University of California at Berkeley. He was “a tireless innovator in the language teaching community,” according to his obituary, specializing in Total Physical Response in Storytelling (TPRS).
Posted 4/21/26 |
Contee T. Seely
Daniel Webster Goodenough died March 3, 2026, in Two Harbors, MN at age 87. Dan was born in Detroit, Michigan on Jan. 22, 1939, to Daniel and Margaret Goodenough. He grew up with two younger sisters with whom he shared a lifelong closeness. He loved summers at the Teton Valley Ranch in Wyoming. Over several years Dan received a BA from Princeton University, where he ate at Cloister Inn, and roomed with Stebbing and Woodard. He then earned a M. Div. from Bryn Athyn College Theological School, and a STM (Master of Sacred Theology) from Lutheran Theological Seminary. From age 16, Dan studied the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th century scientist, Christian theologian, and spiritual explorer. He wrote many articles and papers and published one book, “Divine Providence and Free Will in Human Actions” (1986). He dedicated his professional and personal life to Swedenborg’s teachings and the church founded on them. He believed that Swedenborg’s writings heralded a new way of understanding how Jesus Christ is one God, and that true religion is lived. While in school in Bryn Athyn, PA, Dan met Ruth Parker from Toronto, Ontario. They married in 1963. After ordination into the General Church ministry in 1965, Dan served for two years as assistant pastor in Toronto. His passion for education then brought him back to Bryn Athyn where he joined the faculty as a history and religion teacher in the secondary, college, and theological schools of the Academy of the New Church, also providing counseling to students. He and Ruth raised five children in a home open to visitors, friends, boarders, and others. He loved to play guitar and sing folk traditionals and cowboy songs around the fireplace and at bedtime. He sailed every summer on Lake Huron and backpacked with the college outing club. He cheered spiritedly at his children's sporting and theatrical events. Between 1973 and 1991, he led month-long backpacking trips in the Rocky mountains with college students and his own children. Many backpackers became colleagues and friends; a few were close friends to the end of his life. In 1989, on a wilderness backpacking trip, Dan and Ruth’s 18 year-old son Danny died in a climbing accident. Dan’s belief that “children are the heritage of the Lord” comforted him and many others while the family and community mourned. A few years later, the backpackers erected a memorial to Danny in Wyoming, which Dan returned to many times. For 10 years ending in 2002, Dan served as President of the Academy, championing the spiritual teachings brought to life both in and out of the classroom. Dan retired in 2002. He and Ruth moved to Big Horn, Wyoming, where they hosted dozens of travelling friends. Dan served on the Big Horn Reservoir Water Rights Board, joined the Lions’ Club, taught comparative religions at the Crow Rez College, square danced with Ruth, and rode horseback in the foothills of the Bighorn mountains. In 2014, Dan and Ruth moved to Two Harbors, Minnesota, to be closer to family. If Dan couldn’t be in the mountains, the next best thing was sailing on Lake Superior. Dan was always energized by a “rousting” sail. He replaced the cowboy boots and Stetson with a wide array of ball caps which he wore to soccer games and cross country meets, and wool caps for ski meets and the Beargrease sled dog marathon. In recent years, Dan’s backpacking buddies gathered with him in Wyoming to complete exploration started in the 1970’s. Their mission was to definitively document the miraculous and brilliant 1877 escape of the Nez Perce tribe from the U.S. cavalry through seemingly impossible terrain. Distilling and explaining these findings dominated the last year of Dan’s life; the article he completed this winter will be published in a magazine of western history in the fall. After Ruth passed in July, 2025, Dan’s life continued quietly at home, with only slightly diminished energy. Playing with the local gospel jam group was his most steadfast source of joy. He continued to study spiritual matters and, as able, remained connected to dear friends around the world as well as family. After experiencing a heart attack in the fall, he considered his own end to be near, but never stopped raking leaves or shoveling snow, believing that the Lord would allow him to go when his greatest usefulness was no longer on this earth. He died of heart failure while chopping wood – “with his boots on,” as he always wanted. Dan is preceded in death by his wife Ruth, son Danny, and parents. He is survived by sisters Liz and Pixie and four daughters Mary Goodenough of Sebastopol, CA (d. Ravi Garimella), Vera Dyck of Guelph, ON (m. Steve), Katya Gordon of Two Harbors, MN (m. Mark), and Lamar Goodenough of Bryn Athyn, PA (s. Barrett Smith), grandchildren Maya and Raj Garimella, Nathan and Amber Dyck, Cedar and Lamar Gordon, and Wyatt and Calvin Smith. A service and sing-along will be held at United Church of Two Harbors on Saturday, March 21, at 4:00 p.m., with a reception afterwards downstairs. The service will be Livestreamed and the link available afterwards on the church's Facebook page and Youtube channel. A memorial service will be held at the Bryn Athyn Cathedral (Bryn Athyn, PA) on Saturday, April 4 at 3:00 p.m., following an interment for both him and Ruth at the Bryn Athyn cemetery. The service will be followed by a reception at the Asplundh Assembly Hall.
Posted 4/18/26 |
Daniel W. Goodenough, Jr.
Gathering in March at Ellen Boer's home in Florida.
L to R: George Morris, Tony Atkiss, Ellen, John O'Neill.
Posted 3/26/26
my lucky Class of 1961 hat hasn’t.
Yes, the catch was a redfish and it made a great dinner for Jaye and me.
Ben Turnbull
Posted 12/8/25
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