Howard David Pancoast III ’50

Dave died peacefully at his Virginia home Aug. 17, 2002. He was described as a gentleman who lived life fully, and was known for his love of history, nature, geography, and his green thumb.

He served in the Air Force during World War II. At Princeton, Dave was on the sabre team, founded the Pewter Mug Agency, and belonged to Campus Club. He graduated with high honors in politics and received the department’s New York Herald prize.

After graduation he became a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. He left that job to take a cross-country motorcycle trip to Maine, working as a deckhand on a commercial fishing boat there and in a logging camp in Vermont. He then hitchhiked back to California where, after working for Western Family magazine, he tried freelance writing.

Moving to New York in 1955, he took a job at Woman’s Home Companion, where he met Nancy Follett, whom he married in 1956. After jobs with several other magazines, he joined Better Homes and Gardens, from which he retired in 1974, and moved his family to Virginia.

In addition to his wife, Dave is survived by four children and 11 grandchildren. Belatedly, we share his loss with his family.