Charles Edward Kepler ’51 *54

The Class of  ’51 again lost one of its most loyal and dedicated classmates when Ed died May 31, 2022. He served as our highly successful class agent from 2007 until failing health forced his retirement. For many years, he was an indefatigable fundraiser and supporter of class activities.

Ed came to Princeton from Reading (Pa.) High School to spend six years earning a bachelor’s degree, with election to Phi Beta Kappa, and a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering. He was preceded at Princeton by his brother, George ’47, and his father. Ed roomed with Skip Marquet, joined Campus Club, and played 150-pound football, freshman football, and baseball. 

In 1954, Ed joined United Technologies Research Center in East Hartford, Conn., where he worked for 38 years as a research scientist receiving a dozen patents, publishing numerous technical papers, and earning many honors as a government contract manager and for research in cutting-edge rocket technologies. 

Ed is probably most remembered as a skilled builder and legendary handyman who converted a Vermont schoolhouse into a vacation home and who reconstructed and expanded his East Hartford homes for the comfort and enjoyment of his wife, Ellie; son; and daughter.