David P. Bruton ’57

Dave died July 25, 2025, of pneumonia at Cathedral Village Retirement Center in Philadelphia.

He came to Princeton from the George School in Newtown, Pa.. At Princeton, he majored in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Dave played on the freshman soccer team, participated in Whig Clio as treasurer, and was a member of the S.C.A. and Orange Key. He joined Dial Lodge, where he participated in IAA sports. Senior year Dave roomed at the club with Blair McMillin and Norm Rousseau.

Following Princeton, he earned a law degree at Harvard and then joined Drinker, Biddle & Reath in Philadelphia. Working primarily on litigation and appeals to higher courts, Dave became head of the litigation department and then chairman of the firm.

In 1959, he married Peggy Ann Brumfield, a Mount Holyoke graduate who did graduate work at Temple. They had two children, Keith and Kathryn. Dave’s legal training was interrupted by six months of active duty in the Army; he served for the balance of his service commitment in the National Guard, attaining the rank of sergeant. He became a board member of several organizations and was as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and a mediator for the U.S. District Court of Pennsylvania.

Dave is survived by his wife of 66 years, Peggy; his two children and their families; and sister Jane Batista. He was predeceased by sister Laura Coelen.