George Shiras ’46

George Shiras died peacefully June 17, 2011, in Mequon, Wis., from the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 86.  

A native of New Rochelle, N.Y., George was a star athlete in track, swimming, and football at Pelham (N.Y.) High School before entering Princeton in the summer of 1942. He served in the Army Medical Corps during World War II in France, returning to graduate in 1948. He captained the 150-pound football team at Princeton.

George had a career in public relations and market research, living first in Rowayton, Conn., later moving to Shorewood, Wis., to work for Barkin Herman and Associates in Milwaukee. He promoted the Milwaukee Circus Parade and Lakefront Festival of the Arts. George was an avid tennis and squash player, and his three children all played winning tennis.  

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Ruth Dennis Shiras, whom he met while both were working for Life magazine in Chicago; their children, G. Leif Shiras ’81 and his wife, Maria, Robin Cody and her husband, Ed, and Tracy Justice and her husband, Scott; four grandchildren; and his sister, Betty Macomber. To all the family, the class extends its deep sympathy.