J. Rodney Edwards ’50

Rod had a deep commitment to Princeton and a passion for sailing. Fittingly for our former class president and past commodore of Bay Head Yacht Club, members of the Princeton University Band played a medley of Princeton songs at the close of his memorial service, then led his friends to a Yacht Club reception.

At Princeton, Rod was Glee Club social chairman, track manager, and member of Cannon Club. He revived the Princeton Yacht Club and won the Eastern Sailing Championship, one of many sailing awards he would win in his lifetime. He majored in economics and subsequently earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

He was an accomplished executive in the paper industry. Working with the American Paper Institute, he became its national advocate for paper recycling. After retirement, he consulted and took up furniture restoration.

Rod was a legendary raconteur who reportedly never let the facts interfere with a good story. Most of all, he was a leader, mentor, and family man who always put people at ease. Sadly, his only child, Genie, predeceased him. Our sympathy goes to Anne, his wife of 35 years, his three siblings, and the extended family.