J. Edgar Thomson Rutter ’52 Jet, son of Thomas R. Rutter 1913, was a lawyer and jurist in Southern California after serving two years in the Army and graduating from the University of Southern California Law School.
Jet came to Princeton from Chadwick School in Palos Verdes, Calif. He was recruited for the fencing team by coach Stan Sieja and was made captain his senior year. He majored in religion and graduated with honors. Jet joined Dial Lodge, and roomed with Chan Dawson and Dan Hansen.
Friends in the class recall Jet’s ability to entertain with renditions of bawdy songs. His energy and good humor are evident in his remarks for The Book of Our History.
Appointed to the Orange County Superior Court in 1968 (the youngest judge in California at that time), he created a department of family law to speed the handling of cases. He was president of the Newport Harbor (Calif.) Nautical Museum.
Jet died May 31, 2014, at home in Newport Beach. We send our sympathies to his wife, Kit; and children Thomas, John, Lenore, and Lynne.