Benton Neal Harris Jr. ’41

Neal died of kidney failure in Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md., Dec. 16, 1995. A retired manufacturing executive, he will be remembered for having organized a group that built housing for the poor and found jobs for the jobless.

Born in Atlanta and growing up in Baltimore, Neal came to Princeton from Gilman. As president of Cap & Gown, he was a leader in convincing the university that club membership should be available to all. During WWII, he served with the Air Corps, then helped to found Gulf States Plastics, retiring in 1971.

In the early 1960s he formed a lasting friendship with the late James Rouse, who established the Enterprise Foundation and who influenced Neal's growing interest in housing and community service. With the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, he helped save 30 families from being evicted from Butchers Hill and later founded Jubilee Baltimore Inc., a nonprofit housing agency for needy families in East Baltimore. His related Jubilee Jobs program placed over 1,900 people. Neal used to tell his staff, "You're going to be dependent if you don't have a job and a decent place to live." He was a "shuttle diplomat" between the poor and the prosperous.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Mary Norman Tomlin, sons B. Neal III and Peter, daughters Mallory Kubicek, Mary Katherine, and Margaret, and six grandchildren. To them all, we extend deep sympathy.

The Class of 1941