Henry G. Stifel Jr. ’49

Hank died Sept. 18, 2013.

Born Dec. 15, 1927, in Wheeling, W.Va., Hank came to Princeton from Choate, majored in psychology, and played basketball. He was advertising manager of the Nassau Sovereign and a member of Elm Club. After service in the Air Force, Hank had a successful business career with Xerox of Canada and Armotek Industries Inc.

A life-changing event for Hank was the injury that left his 17-year-old son paralyzed and in a wheelchair. Refusing to accept the then-conventional wisdom that nothing could be done for spinal-cord injuries, Hank founded the Stifel Paralysis Research Foundation. Through his persistence and hard work and later joining of forces with Christopher Reeve, the actor who had suffered a similar mishap, great progress has been made in an area once considered virtually hopeless.

Hank is survived by his wife, Charlotte Snead Stifel; and their children, Henry G. Stifel III, Amy L. Stifel Quinn, Stephanie E. Stifel Coughlan, and Wendy Stifel Hansen; and nine grandchildren. We are proud of Hank, and we cherish the memory of his friendship. Our sympathies go out to his family on their loss of this good man.