Bayard D. Rea ’51

Bart died Aug. 24, 2025.

He came to Princeton from Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh. He majored in geology, was a member of Elm Club, the Student Christian Association, and Orange Key. He roomed with John Bell and David Lowry.

Upon graduation, Bart spent a year at Penn State University studying minerology and then entered the Navy as an ensign on a hydrographic survey ship. After, he began work as a petroleum geologist with Stanolind Oil Co., and its successor Pan American Petroleum Corp. in Casper and Billings, Wyo. He went on to start his own geological consulting business. During the energy boom of the 1970s Bart became active in the environmental movement. He served on his county’s planning and zoning committee, was a member of the Wyoming Geological Survey advisory board, on the board of directors of the National Audubon Society, a trustee of RARE Center for Tropical Conservation, and a board member of Platte River Trails Trust from its inception in the 1980s through August 2025.

Bart was predeceased by his wife Liz. He is survived by his children Marjory, Dan ’79, and Bill.