Andrew Blair Crownover ’55

Blair, a retired Washington, D.C., attorney and member of Princeton’s 1746 Society honoring planned gifts, died Oct. 20, 2022. He was born May 11, 1933, in Philadelphia, and attended Central High School in Philadelphia. There he participated in student government and publications.

At Princeton, Blair majored in the Woodrow Wilson School and was a member of Terrace Club. He was associated with Whig-Clio, The Daily Princetonian, the Canterbury Fellowship, and the Philadelphia Club. His senior-year roommates were Howard Reilly and Steven DeCoster.

After Army service and law school at the University of Michigan, Blair joined Clohan & Dean, then in 1962 joined the U.S. Senate Office of the Legislative Counsel, where in 1978 he was promoted from assistant counsel to senior counsel. Among the landmark laws he worked on were the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970. He also served informally as a mentor to young attorneys in the office, and according to colleagues and friends, he held the office together. He retired in 1988. In addition to government service, Blair spent 30 years teaching law at Georgetown University Law School. 

Blair was predeceased by Ormond “Bud” Andrew, his partner of more than 20 years, and a succession of Irish setters, all named Blaze. He is survived by his godchildren, Elizabeth Meeker Crangle and Bradley Meeker.