Willie Soons died Nov. 3, 2011, in Stonington, Conn., with his wife, Joan, and his daughter at his side.
A Lawrenceville graduate, Willie received a minor “P” in football at Princeton, played in the band, was in Tiger Inn, sang in the Glee Club, and was in the Nassoons. During his sophomore year, nine of the 11 Nassoons were members of ’44. A charming apocryphal story is that they were once told “to meet at the Nassau Inn with Soons,” hence the name Nassoons. Willie’s roommates were Ben Oswalt, Dick Werbe, Collier Havens, and Jim Vauclain.
During three years in the Army, he received the Bronze Star in Europe as a captain. He received his Princeton degree in 1948, graduated from Columbia Law School, and spent his career as a lawyer with Soons & Soons in New York and Englewood, N.J.
Willie continued to sing in close-harmony and choral groups all his life. A vestryman in the Episcopal Church in Cresskill, N.J., he seldom missed a reunion or a football game in Princeton.
He is survived by Joan; children James, William, and Sydney; three stepchildren; six grandchildren; and two sisters. Softspoken and always with a friendly, impish smile, Willie was one of a kind.