Francis C. Symonds Jr. ’47

dnFRANK DIED Aug. 4, 1990, following complications from major heart attack. He born in Fayetteville, N.C., but lived most of his adult life in Tenafly, NJ. He had gone to Lawrenceville to prepare for Princeton, but the Navy sent him to the U.Va., where he spent two years in the V12 program. Following the war, he transferred to Princeton for his last two years and graduated as a member of our Class. During his short stay at the University, he developed many close friendships which continued throughout his life.

He received his medical degree from Columbia Univ. 's College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1951. He spent his medical career at ColumbiaPresbyterian Medical Center, where he attained the rank of professor of clinical surgery. He specialized in plastic surgery. His professional career was interrupted by the Korean War, when he reentered the Navy and served as a medical officer on a troop transport.

Frank married Pat Higbee in 1950 and they were subsequently blessed with two sets of fraternal twins. He was a devoted family man and carefully preserved his family time with his wife and the twins throughout a busy professional career. He was a kind, patient, generous and thoughtful person, and a close friend said he was a firm believer in the adage "if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all."

We shall miss his good fellowship and dry sense of humor. The Class extends its sympathies to Pat and the twins, Bev and Skip, and Jeri and Steve.

The Class of 1947