Duncan W. Van Dusen ’58

Duncan died April 21, 2018, from blood cancer.

He attended Episcopal (Pa.) Academy and graduated from St. Paul’s. At Princeton, Duncan was a history major, graduated cum laude, and was a member of Ivy Club. His senior-year roommates were Bromley, D. Day, and Heckscher. After Princeton he earned a master’s of public health at Columbia University.

From 1968 to 1989, he was a staff member at Penn’s school of medicine. In 1989, he joined the office of Penn’s university secretary. He retired in 2009, but remained active in the Penn community until his death. At his retirement, he was given emeritus status in recognition of his many contributions to the university.

In 2008 he received the Princeton Alumni Council Award in recognition of his extraordinary service as an Alumni Schools Committee member. He was our class secretary from 1958 to 1968.

He was known for his warm and kind demeanor, his devotion to his family, and his service to community, educational institutions, and public health.

In our 50th-reunion yearbook, Duncan wrote, “Thanks be to God, for the opportunity of a Princeton education and the fellowship of the Princeton community.” It is we, instead, who give thanks for this extraordinary classmate and his life of service to Princeton and to humanity.

The class extends its sympathy to his wife, Elizabeth; sons Edwin ’90, Duncan ’92, and Nicholas ’94; and his six grandchildren.