Pete died Feb. 9, 2009, in Beverly, Mass., of complications from prostate cancer.

Pete was a devoted Princetonian and one of 11 Buchanans — including his father — who matriculated at Princeton during the past century. He was class secretary for 15 years, a longtime executive committee member, and ex-president of the New England Alumni Association. He was instrumental in starting the Princeton tradition of class minis and organized four for our class.  

Born in Pittsburgh, he came to Princeton from Deerfield. He majored in economics, was active in class affairs and Orange Key all four years, and belonged to Key and Seal.  

Pete served in the Navy in Japan during the Korean War. He earned a law degree from Harvard in 1956. After practicing in Boston, he joined State Street Bank & Trust in 1962, where he was in charge of trust-business development. He went out on his own in 1978 to work in estate-planning counseling and education.  

Pete was president of Boston’s Union Club, a trustee of Forsyth Dental Center, a vestryman, and a supporter of the arts. He hiked all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000-foot peaks.  

We share the loss of this special classmate with his wife, Joan; his children, David ’87, Emily, and John; and his extended family.

Undergraduate Class of 1950