Charles N. Chous ’47

Four semesters at Princeton transformed Charlie's life. He arrived in '45 as a pre-med, V-12 transferee from Columbia (having previously served at sea on the USS Iowa). Released to civilian life, he switched to Princeton's fabled English Dept. and fell under the spell of Donald Stauffer, whose sparkling precepts, according to Charlie, "transported us to faraway places and times," and inspired him to take up a teacher's life.

For 35 joyful years he served various schools, mostly in San Bernardino, as a teacher, administrator, and innovator. In 1955 he met and married Alice Seltzer, who shared his profession and his passion for it. In 1982 they retired to Nevis, Minn., to enjoy a home stocked abundantly with books and near two lakes where Charlie enjoyed fishing, witnessing nature, and reading.

On Aug. 31, 2003, a shocked Alice found Charlie lying at peace in his boat, a victim of heart failure.

Countless former students (some now Princeton alumni) still revere Charlie's ability to inspire the love of learning that transports and transforms. As his entries in each of '47's yearbooks show, he, in turn, never lost his profound love for Princeton and the magic it worked.

To Alice and the family, we make this modest tribute to Charlie with admiration and affection.

The Class of 1947