John Henderson Selby ’41

As the San Francisco Chronicle reported, "Jack Selby, joke teller, golfer, Navy pilot, and longtime Bay resident, died peacefully at home at 84" on Nov. 25, 2003. He was a descendant of a gold-rush '49er and of SF's 13th mayor.

A Lawrenceville School graduate, Jack majored in chemical engineering at Princeton and joined Tower Club. On the golf team all four years, he is best remembered for scoring the low score in the 1941 NCAA golf tournament, enabling Princeton to win the national collegiate title over Louisiana State U. at the Ekwanok Golf Club in Manchester, Vt., by two strokes.

Also on the gym and bowling teams, as well as intramural swimming, Jack roomed with Bob Townsend freshman year and with Ike Pryor all four years.

In the service, Jack became a four-engine seaplane pilot in the Naval Air Transport Command, flying the Pacific. He retired as a lieutenant. After the war, Jack joined Chevron Chemical Co. in marketing, where he spent his entire career, taking early retirement as eastern sales manager in 1970.

Throughout his life, he was a talented amateur golfer, and by our 25th reunion had already played in the British, Swiss, French, Canadian, and US Amateur Championships. In 1948 he played in the Masters.

He is survived by members of the Henderson and Selby families. We shall miss this loyal and generous classmate.

The Class of 1941