Ian MacFarlane ’53

Born in Chicago the year after his parents arrived from Scotland, Ian came to Princeton from Maine Township High School in Park Ridge, Ill., where he was class president and an Eagle Scout.

At Princeton he joined Cap and Gown, majored in English, and wrote his thesis on “Mark Twain’s Pessimism.” After college he was an officer in the Navy from 1953 to 1956 and then earned an MBA at Stanford Business School. Ian worked in the chemical industry until 1972. He then founded MacFarlane & Co. Subsequently, he acquired Fry Consultants, which had offices in major American cities as well as correspondent consulting firms in Europe, Japan, and the Middle East. He also held leadership positions in the American Marketing Association.

Ian was deeply involved in his church and served for some time as superintendent of its Sunday school. He also took great pride in his Scottish roots and was the founder and first president of the Clan MacFarlane Society, as well as a founding member of Clan MacFarlane Worldwide.

Ian died Sept. 2, 2018, at his home in Atlanta. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Dorothy “Dottie” Lee Carl; their four children; and seven grandchildren.