John H. Laporte Jr. ’67

The following is an expanded version of a memorial from the Oct. 5, 2016, issue.

Jack died Aug. 12, 2013.

He came to Princeton from the Pingry School in Hillside, N.J., where he excelled as both a student and an athlete, lettering in soccer, wrestling, and baseball, and mastering numerous AP assignments. Even then, through his father, he had developed a keen interest in the stock market and the creation of value.

At Princeton, Jack played soccer for all four years. He majored in politics and took his meals at Tiger Inn, where almost certain defeat awaited those who challenged Jack at the pingpong table, the golf course, or at almost any other game. He was a fierce competitor. He roomed with Ash, Claster, Eichelberger, Millar, and Wynne.

After Princeton, Jack graduated from Harvard Business School and went on to a long and storied career at T. Rowe Price, the mutual fund giant. In particular, he managed the New Horizons Fund for more than 22 years, quintupling the size of the multi-billion fund over that time. At his memorial service, he was called “one of the great investors of the 20th century.”

Jack knew the value of learning. He knew the value of time. His uncanny sense of people, his integrity, and his intelligence all carried over into his family life in the long marriage to the love of his life, Andie; his two sons, Christopher ’99 and Timothy ’05; their wives, Jen ‘99 and Olga; his sister, Jill; and three grandchildren.

Always with grace and humility, Jack used his worldly success to help countless people in need, and not least to support Princeton in many ways, including service as president of the class, taking a lead role in bringing 1967 Hall to life.

In recent years, Jack was a principal founder of the SEED School of Maryland, an urban boarding school founded to give inner-city children access to a quality education.

Most of all, he loved his family, he loved his work, he loved his friends, and he loved Princeton. To Andie, Christopher and Jen, Timothy and Olga, and Jill, the class extends both sympathy and deep gratitude for Jack’s life of service.