J. Bennett Wren ’50

Ben died June 4, 2015, in Cloverdale, Calif.  The cause was cancer.

He came to Princeton from Shattuck Military Academy in Minnesota, though he grew up in Oklahoma City. Ben majored in psychology, rowed on the 150-pound crew his freshman year, and was a member of Colonial.

He served on an aircraft carrier during the Korean War. After leaving the Navy, Ben took over his father’s office-supply and equipment company in Oklahoma City and expanded it to designing and decorating residential and commercial interiors.

In 1961 he accepted an offer from a business colleague, Kirk Bassett, to come to Tiburon, Calif., a bayside community in Marin County. There they opened a clothing store, appropriately named “The Bird and Hound.” The store, which first featured recreational clothing and then women’s East Coast-style sportswear, thrived for more than 35 years. As a businessman, Ben, though known locally as John, was active in civic affairs.

Ben is survived by his second wife, Constance,  to whom he was married for 27 years; children John, Tally, and Charles from his first marriage to Suzanne Talbot; three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Our condolences go to his family.