Edwards F. Leiper III ’49

Tony died July 5, 2025, in Baton Rouge, La. He was 98.

Tony grew up in Wayne, Pa., and attended Haverford Prep. He enlisted in the Navy at the close of his senior year and served as a Seabee in the Philippines. He deferred entrance to Princeton while retaining his Class of ’49 status, matriculating in the fall of 1948. He majored in electrical engineering, was a member of Tiger Inn, and was the “clapper napper” in 1948. He met his future wife, Betsy J. English (Goucher ’51) at a Dillon mixer.

Tony left Princeton after their marriage in November 1949 and began his 25-year career at Bell Telephone of Pennsylvania. He took the golden parachute option when Ma Bell broke up, and retired to North Sandwich, N.H., where he and Betsy operated a successful bed and breakfast. He was a storyteller, a letter writer, an amateur actor, a master of pranks and pratfalls, a natural athlete, a dog whisperer, and a lobster chef.

He is survived by his wife and their five children.