John Navarre De Macomb Jr. ’35

Born in Bay Head, N.J., July 20, 1913, Frenchie died at the Rush Hospice Northshore in Evanston, Ill., on July 8, 2000. He was 86.

He prepped for Princeton at Chicago's Latin School and the Hill School in Pottstown, Pa., where his membership in the band, orchestra, Glee Club, and choir heralded a lifelong love of music. At Princeton he majored in mechanical engineering for two years, then switched to economics. Again, music was his prime extracurricular activity.

After graduation, Frenchie worked for three years in Inland Steel's mills in East Chicago, Ind. At night, he took ferrous metallurgical engineering courses at Chicago's Illinois Inst. of Tech. Inland management noticed, and he was promoted to headquarters. Then, WWII broke out; his Princeton ROTC years were noted, and Frenchie spent a year in active service in the US, two in Panama, and two in Europe. He was decorated five times: twice by the US government, twice by France, and once by the USSR.

Frenchie married Marjorie R. Street in 1951. They settled in Winnetka, Ill., and he completed a 44-year career at Inland. Then, the Macombs traveled, indulging a joint interest in photography and birdwatching and (in Frenchie's case) increased volunteerism, especially in projects that involved abused or neglected children). Marj died in 1997. There are no descendants.

The Class of 1935