Calvin Tomkins II ’47

Tad died March 20, 2026, in Middletown, R.I.

He grew up in West Orange, N.J., and prepped at Berkshire School in Sheffield, Mass. Following one semester at Princeton he joined the Navy and returned to major in English and graduate in 1948.

After a few years at Newsweek, he joined The New Yorker in 1960, working there the remainder of his life. Tad noted that he and The New Yorker both turned 100 in 1925. In the Class of ’47 50th-reunion yearbook, Tad shared his love for Princeton, stating, “R.P. Blackmur’s Creative Writing course at Princeton solidified my urge to be a writer.”

Tad is survived by his wife, Dodie Kazanjian; a son, Spencer; three daughters, Anne Baffert, Susan Seidl, and Sarah Flohre ’04; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. The class extends deepest sympathy to Tad’s family, friends, and colleagues.