David R. Watts ’62

Dave died July 16, 2023, in Charleston, S.C. 

He made his mark at Princeton. The first two years he played 150-pound football and sang in the Glee Club. He was elected class secretary his junior year, became a Keyceptor, and joined the Nassoons, the latter becoming a lifelong connection. Dave was president of our class senior year, chairman of the Keycept program, and a member of the Undergraduate Council and Undergraduate Life Committee. He majored in history and was a member of Quadrangle Club.

Dave elected to pursue medical school at Northwestern University. He met his wife, Carol, there and married soon afterward. Drafted into the Army, he served as a surgeon with the First Air Cavalry Division in Vietnam. Resuming residency, he focused on vascular surgery, which he practiced until his early retirement at age 58, prompted by atrial fibrillation. 

He and Carol chose to relocate to Charleston, where he sailed his own boat, attended regular reunions with the Nassoons, and became an avid history buff. 

The class extends condolences to Carol and to daughters Catherine, Elizabeth, and Mary.