Jerome Robert Zipkin ’36

Jerry died June 8, 1995, of lung cancer. He was 80. A native New Yorker, he prepared at the Hun School. At Princeton he majored in art and archaeology. He left Princeton during his junior year and spent many years managing his family real-estate holdings.

During WWII, he was active in intelligence work. He was an avid traveler and a collector of art and first editions.

He enjoyed life to the fullest. He was a celebrated fixture on the international scene for 50 years, being referred to as "a man about everywhere." He was a favorite escort of many fashionable society women, and he was a longtime friend, escort, and confidant of Nancy Reagan. One of his early good friends was the noted English author Somerset Maugham. Jerry's ability to respect confidence was reported as legendary. In his later years, his family consisted of only his sister Elinor Cervantes. However, he had several godchildren in the U.S. and Europe whom he visited regularly.

The Class of 1936