Mike Eckles died Dec. 12, 2010, in Dodge City, Kan. He enjoyed a fulfilling and wide-ranging career that led him from retailing to green technologies, real estate, securities, and academics.

After college and an M.B.A. from the University of Kansas, he never got out of Dodge, working there as a managing partner in the family businesses, Eckles Department Store, One Door South, and PMP. He also served as president of the chamber of commerce and was an Army National Guard officer.

In the 1970s, Mike was a founding investor in the Center for Alternate Energies. Later he sold real estate, was an investment manager with Consolidated Investment Services and Oppenheimer, and taught economics at St. Mary of the Plains College.

The ever-cheerful Mike also had a wide array of interests at Princeton, majoring in Romance languages, writing a thesis on Jorge Luis Borges, and playing in the concert band. He ate at Tower and roomed the last two years with Jim Dwyer and Don Nicol.

Mike deeply regretted that a smoking-related illness kept him from our 45th.

The class sends its most sincere condolences to Mike’s wife, Jan; a daughter, Erin; son Jason, and Jason’s wife, Kendra.

Undergraduate Class of 1963