David M. Jeffreys ’59

Born in Philippi, W.Va., raised in Arlington, Va., and schooled at Exeter, David died suddenly of a massive heart attack at home in State College, Pa., on New Year’s Day 2020.

An aeronautical engineering major at Princeton, David ate at Campus Club. Following graduation he enrolled in a graduate engineering program at the University of Maryland, then (as he said in our 10th-reunion yearbook) he “achieved his ambition of becoming a grad school dropout,” upon which he was drafted and served two years in the Army. Following discharge he married Loretta “Laurie” Macomber, signed on with GE in Burlington, Vt., and in 1965 moved to State College with Laurie and the two children they had added while in Vermont.

David put down roots in State College, working as principal engineer for HRB Systems (now part of Raytheon) in missile intelligence, trajectory, and performance analysis and adding three more Jeffreyses to the family. He retired from Raytheon in 2002.

In retirement David pursued his love of classical music, movies, and sports. He led the local chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness and the Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, and was active in Friends Meeting.

Predeceased by his only son (victim of a drunk driver in 1998), David is survived by Laurie and four daughters. We have sent condolences.