Charlie died March 5, 2017, of pulmonary fibrosis, at the Gables in Guilford, Conn.

Charlie entered Princeton from the Lawrenceville School, where he had been classmates with his later-to-be Princeton roommates during freshman year, Bill Ballenger, Joe Sprague, and John Whiteley.

Studying aeronautical engineering, Charlie left Princeton at the end of first term of sophomore year. After a stint in the Kentucky Air National Guard, Charlie joined Northwest Airlines. A pilot for 35 years, he was captain of Boeing 747-400 jumbo jets at retirement.

Highly generous and regarded by friends and family as a genius, Charlie was fascinated by a wide range of scientific subjects. His in-depth explanations of them would often confound his listeners. Before and after retirement, Charlie lived in Deep River, Conn., before moving to the Gables in the last year of his life.

Charlie and his wife, Mary Lou, had one child, Patricia. Their marriage ended in divorce. He is survived by daughter Patricia (Bell); granddaughter Lilly Bell of Spanish Fort, Ala.; and sister Anzie Billings of Stonington, Maine, and Palm City, Fla.

Undergraduate Class of 1962