David Franklin Sykes ’51

Dave was born Dec. 4, 1929, in Philadelphia, to Franklin and Dorothy Heebner Sykes.

He came to us from William Penn Charter School. At Princeton he majored in mechanical engineering, sang in the Glee Club, and belonged to Prospect Club. He roomed with Bill Bardsley, Dan Little, Don Mann, Jim Mays, George Nesbitt, and Ed Woolley.

He enlisted in the Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Belvoir, Va., after which he and his wife, Margaret, moved to Lexington, Mass., where he began a lifelong career in engineering.

After being employed by Raytheon in Wayland, Mass., for more than 30 years, he retired in 1990. Margaret Parkhurst Sykes died that same year.

In 2004 Dave and his second wife, Dorene, moved to Falmouth on Cape Cod. For four decades Dave sang in the bass section of either the Chorus pro Musica of Boston or the Masterworks Chorale of Lexington. He had a Cape Dory 36 called the Bellweather; Quissett Harbor was a favorite stop during cruises.

Dave died Dec. 31, 2016, and is survived by his wife, Dorene; his children, Ellen Spencer, Timothy, Katharine Steer, and Rebecca Sykes; seven grandchildren; and cousin Henry Sykes ’61. His uncle, James Sykes ’30, a professor at Dartmouth, predeceased him.