Ernest H. Ruckert Jr. ’49

Ernie died Feb. 17, 2024, at his retirement community in Raleigh, N.C., at age 97.

He graduated from Westwood High School in New Jersey and served in the Army before starting at Princeton. At Princeton, he majored in the School of Public and International Affairs, was a member of the Chess Club and Quadrangle Club, and was an officer of the Pre-Law Society. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1952 and briefly practiced in Newark, N.J., before entering private practice in Teaneck, N.J., specializing in estate and real estate law.

Ernie and his wife, Ginnie, raised their two sons in Bergen County, N.J., before moving to the Catskills for several years, and then retired to North Carolina in 1992. They became volunteers at children’s homes, and Ernie, who enjoyed writing poetry, mentored children in writing their own poetry. Ernie and Ginnie would travel from North Carolina to French Camp Academy in Mississippi, where Ernie taught chess and hosted chess tournaments in addition to tutoring in academics and poetry writing. He and Ginnie were also active members of the congregation of Duke University Chapel.

Ginnie died in 2021. Ernie is survived by sons Ernest Ruckert III and Roger Ruckert ’77; four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.