Eugene Winfield Trone ’45

Gene died Nov. 28, 2001, two days after a fall in his garden in Old Town Alexandria, Va.

Gene prepared at William Penn High in York, Pa. At Princeton he joined Cloister Inn, but his experience was interrupted for service in the Army Air Corps and Military Intelligence. Returning, he majored in philosophy in 1948, and received the 1869 Prize in Ethics (the first award in 26 years) for his thesis. He had married the former June Finch in 1947, and they used that Ethics prize money toward graduate studies at the Sorbonne.

Gene went on to Georgetown U. and began a career in the Foreign Service in 1951, becoming an Middle East expert through service in Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan, returning to DC in 1963. He served in Egypt from 1969-72, and was a liaison with the Egyptian government until 1976. He worked closely with then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in connection with the historic shuttle diplomacy to end the 1973 Arab-ISraeli War. After Gene retired in 1978, he became a consultant on Middle East affairs. Gene's ever-present bow tie adorned the halls of the Cosmos and Army & Navy Clubs in DC.

In addition to June, Gene is survived by his daughter, Eugenie, and a stepdaughter, Alayne Tiemeyer. The class extends its sympathy to the family.

The Class of 1945