J. Brinley Owen Jr. ’55

On Sept. 18, 2004, Brin, an avid sailor, died peacefully in his sleep on his sailboat while anchored in Santa Barbara harbor at the end of a weeklong cruise. His wife was with him.

Brin grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs and graduated from Lower Merion High School. At Princeton, he was an oarsman. He stroked the 150-pound freshman boat to an undefeated season, and as a sophomore stroked the 150-pound varsity boat to an undefeated season and the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges championship.

Brin was a mechanical engineer, and after a tour of duty as a supply officer in the Navy, joined Armco Steel Corp. He worked in sales until his retirement as an executive sales manager in 1991. Brin moved to the West Coast in 1966 and settled in Palos Verdes Estates, in a house with a view of the Pacific. Sailing was the best part of his life, and he loved his boat and cruising the Pacific.

Brin is survived by his wife of 48 years, Fay Holden Owen, a sister, four children, and eight grandchildren. The class extends its sympathy to his wife and family.

The Class of 1955