Edward N. Meldahl ’50

“Ted” Meldahl died peacefully Nov. 11, 2011, in North Carolina.

After graduating from Choate, he studied in the Navy V-12 program at Notre Dame and at the Navy Oriental Language School in Oklahoma, where he was commissioned as an ensign in 1946. Entering Princeton in 1948, he graduated with honors in religion in 1950. He continued his study of Japanese at Columbia and at Tokyo University on a Fulbright Scholarship.

Ted used his language skills by working for Pfizer and Abbott Labs in Japan from 1956 to 1968. He then returned stateside to work in family planning. He joined the United Nations Fund for Population Activities in 1973, initially covering Malaysia and Singapore from Kuala Lumpur, and then five African countries from Nairobi. After retiring, he settled in South Carolina with his second wife, Joyce, whom he met in 1971 while singing in a choir in Bangkok. Joyce predeceased him.

He had a lifelong love for baseball that he shared with his children and grandchildren, and as a youngster he once pitched to Ted Williams. He delighted in singing, dancing, and telling jokes. He was “a consummate wordsmith in English,” authoring funny articles and poetry.

We extend our sympathy to his brother, Robert; children Malcolm, Virginia, and Keith; and three grandsons.