Carl D. Laws Jr. ’55

Born in Brooklyn, he prepared for Princeton at Lawrenceville. He started with the Class of 1953. After freshman year, Carl worked for two years with the U.N. in New York before returning to Princeton. He majored in history and wrote his thesis on the Founding Fathers, with a focus on John Adams. He sang in the Glee Club and Chapel Choir and rowed on the 150s.

After Princeton, Carl received a master’s degree in history from Columbia and graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary. He lived in the family home in Scarsdale from 1937 until 2004. He cared for his parents, especially in their final days. He lived a life of Christian devotion and was a licensed eucharistic minister, attending churches from Maine to North Carolina.  

Carl was a constant reader whose book collection exceeded 10,000 volumes. He was a New York Giants baseball fan until the team moved to California, but remained a true New York Giants football fan. He continued his interest in music by singing with the New Choral Society of Central Westchester until he moved to Des Plaines in 2008.

Carl is survived by his brothers, Don ’57 and Doug ’62, to whom the class extends deepest sympathy.