Frank Elijah Taplin Jr. ’37

When Frank died May 11, 2003, '37 lost one of its most talented and generous classmates. The Princeton Packet described him as "a Renaissance man," and his accomplishments were many and varied.

Frank came to us from Cleveland U. School, majored in history, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Rhodes Scholarship. After earning a master's in jurisprudence from Oxford and a law degree from Yale, he served in the Navy in the South Pacific. He then practiced law in Cleveland until returning to Princeton as Pres. Goheen's assistant in 1957.

The following years brought forth Frank's philanthropy and extraordinary fundraising abilities. Joining the board of the Metropolitan Opera, he greatly increased its endowment, and became its president from 1977-84. Typical of his egalitarian spirit, he donated the Metropolitan's cafeteria for staff and artists.

Other beneficiaries of Frank's philanthropy included the Marlboro School of Music, Sarah Lawrence College, Lincoln Center, and the Cleveland Orchestra. He donated the Taplin Auditorium at Princeton, and was a patron of the Institute for Advanced Study, with a particular interest in preserving the surrounding woods.

We will never forget his piano playing at Reunions and his service to '37 — at his death he was chairman of Planned Giving. Survivors include his beloved wife of 50 years, Peggy; son David; daughters Caroline Ruschell and Jennifer Jerome; stepdaughters Jennifer Dickerman, Martha Kelley, and Susan Sichel; brother Thomas '42; sister Clara Rankin; 12 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. We offer our condolences to them all.

The Class of 1937