From the Editor

If you’re a regular reader of our back pages, you might have noticed that PAW’s memorials are unlike those in other alumni magazines. They are written by classmates, not by editors. They are intimate. Many are loving. They remind us of strong college bonds and old stories that more formal, polished obituaries might ignore: a student’s roommates, first loves, early passions.

Service of Remembrance, February 2012

PHOTO: RICARDO BARROS

The memorials are the responsibility of designated class writers — volunteers who put their hearts into what can be a sad and time-consuming task. PAW prints every memorial that it receives, in the order in which we get them.

It is the tradition of PAW and the class writers that all are equal in death: From the famous to the little-known, all memorials are subject to the same word limits and constraints. That often leaves things unsaid. (Friends and family members are invited to fill in some of the gaps by posting remembrances at PAW Online.)

With this issue, we hope to begin a new tradition. We will profile a small number of alumni, chosen by the editors, who died during the prior year. This project won’t change or delay the class memorials that appear in each issue.

We chose to run these short profiles in February because the Service of Remembrance, which marks the recent deaths of alumni along with those of students, faculty, and staff members, occurs then. This year’s service takes place at 3 p.m. on Alumni Day (Feb. 23) in the University Chapel. The annual service is one of Princeton’s most moving events.

The alumni profiled here (pages 24–37) are not necessarily well known, though many are. Nor did all make extraordinary contributions to public life, though some did. You will know some of their names, but not all. But behind each person — nine men and one woman — was a poignant or unusual personal story that we wanted to tell. There are many others who could have been included in these pages had we more time and writers. Indeed, everyone has a story, even if we haven’t found it yet.