J. Ness Van Philip Jr. ’44

A SUDDEN HEART ATTACK took Van Ness in his home in Claverack, N.Y., Oct. 27, 1992. He had emphysema. He was an admirable man. At Princeton he majored in politics, joined WhigClio and Colonial; and became comanaging editor of THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN. He wrote the lead an Feb. 6, 1943, when the "Prince" ceased for the duration. Commissioned in the U.S.M.C., he served with the 26th Marines of the 5th Division and was wounded in the assault on Iwo Jima. He graduated from Harvard Business School in 1947 and began his career in journalism as a reporter on the TIMES HERALD in Washington, D.C,, He then spent two years with the Princeton HERALD. He married Julia Willis in 1952, a union producing five children, two of whom attended Old Nassau, John 111 '76 and Leila '84. He joined McGraw Hill and in 1967 founded the very successful newsletter MODERN DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT (M.D.M.). He took over the family apple orchards and instituted innovative open public picking, a marketing method that proved over time to be successful. A kind and thoughtful man, he believed unwaveringly in his own decisions, no matter what doubts others might express. He left his family and his community richer with the blessings of his judgments. As a son put it, he died with his house in order. He rests in Washington, D.C., beside his father, J. Van Ness Philip 1889, and brother Nicholas '47. He will be missed.

The Class of 1944