Edward Seckel ’43 *48

A professor of aeronautical engineering at Princeton for 25 years before he retired in 1977, Ed died Sept. 28, 2009, at the University Medical Center at Princeton. He was 88.

Born in Chicago, he grew up in Riverside, Ill., and Chicago, and prepped at Chicago Latin School, where he was on the basketball, baseball, tennis, and golf teams. At Princeton he majored in mechanical engineering, was co-manager of Gateway Club, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated with highest honors. He went on to receive a master’s degree from Princeton in 1948.  

In addition to holding a professorship, Ed authored a textbook, The Stability and Control of Airplanes and Helicopters, and sailed across the Atlantic. He retired to Nantucket in 1977 but returned to Princeton in 1999. He enjoyed gardening, golf, bridge, and photography.  

Ed is survived by his wife of 61 years, Helen Randall Seckel; a son, David; and four grandchildren, two of whom are the children of Ed’s late daughter, Deborah Ann Kresh.