Frederic Rene Coudert ’53

Fritz’s love for his native city and environs could be summed up in these words from a Broadway song: “New York, New York, it’s a wonderful town.” He was born there, grew up there, practiced law there, and died at his Oyster Bay, N.Y., home Dec. 5, 2008, after a long illness. He was 76.

He prepared at St. Paul’s. At Princeton, he ate at Colonial, played club hockey, and belonged to Triangle. (Senior-year roommate and Princeton trustee emeritus Ed Matthews remembers that Fritz played “brilliant piano.”) After graduation he received a law degree from Columbia and served two years in the Army’s JAG corps before joining the family law firm Coudert Brothers, where he became a partner. His work centered in the field of law generated by the business of investment counseling and hedge and mutual funds. He was president of Kips Bay Boys and Girls Clubs and gave his time to many Oyster Bay organizations, including the WaterFront Center, Doubleday Babcock Senior Center, and the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center.  

Fritz is survived by his devoted wife, Marge; daughters Cynthia and Sandra; his sister, Paula Rand; and three grandchildren. To them, we offer our warm wishes.