Edwin Thomas Lightcap ’51

A Jersey native, Ed was born Feb. 8, 1927, in North Bergen; he died Nov. 16, 2005, in Whiting after a long illness. He was a World War II Navy veteran and came to us from Union Hill High School, where he was in the class of 1944.

At Princeton he roomed first with Charles Reed '49 and then with Dick Snedeker, majored in aeronautical engineering, was president of the Engineering Society and the Flying Club, was chairman of the Engineering Council, and was a member of the Undergraduate Council. He married Noreen Whitehead in 1951.

Ed was in aviation all his life. He started out as a member of the flight-test crew for Lockheed and Douglas for two years, then went on to sales with McKiernan-Terry in Dover, N.J. For eight years he was in aircraft sales and turbojet charter. Ed was a flight instructor at Teterboro Airport and for 15 years was an airline transport-rated corporate pilot in New York. At various times he was chosen to fly former presidents Nixon, Ford, Bush, and Reagan.

He is survived by Noreen, his wife of 54 years; their children, Chaleen Stevens and Kim Ryan; grandchildren Faith and Jake; and his brother, Howard.

The Class of 1951