John Phelps ’38

John Phelps died May 16, 1996, of a heart attack in his sleep while vacationing with his wife, Tudy, in Sicily.

John prepared for Princeton at Lawrenceville. At Princeton he completed his freshman year ranked #1 in his class. However, due to his father's death, he transferred to U. of Michigan, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He always felt close to Princeton, returning to reunions whenever he could, including our 25th and 50th.

In WWII John was a captain in the Army Air Corps in India and China. After the war, John worked for more than 25 years at Lincoln Natl. Insurance Co., ending his career there as senior v.p. and board member. In 1967, after the death of his first wife, he became president on BritishAmerican Insurance Co. in the Bahamas. In 1969 he moved to Munich to take a position of the board of Munich Reinsurance Co. He met Tudy in Germany, and in 1980 they retired to Escondido, Calif.

His ashes were scattered off Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. At the ceremony, among the readings was a stanza from his favorite poem, which begins: "Tiger! Tiger! burning bright." John is survived by his wife, his sons, Michael '71 and Nicholas, his daughter, Teresa, his stepdaughters, Sandra and Jeannie, his stepsons, Brian and Kennedy, a granddaughter, and three grandsons.

The Class of 1938