John Robert Bedell ’66

Bob died Sept. 18, 2025, on Hilton Head Island, S.C.

He came to Princeton from Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, where he played baseball, basketball, and football. At Princeton, he majored in religion, belonged to Tiger Inn, and sang with the Tigertones. He was starting quarterback his junior and senior years and holder all four years for placekicker Charlie Gogolak.

After Princeton, Bob earned an MBA at Wharton, followed by service as chief marketing officer at HBO, then co-founder and executive vice president of Viewer’s Choice, guiding the cable industry’s entry into pay-per-view television.

During his years in New York, Bob served as president, then chairman of the Wharton Business School Club of New York and established the Joseph P. Wharton Dinner. He served for many years as governor of the Rockaway Hunting Club.

Bob spent his last two decades on Hilton Head, with his partner Barbara Finer. He was executive director of a local prostate cancer organization and active in several community organizations.

Bob is survived by Barbara; son Robert; daughter Elisabeth Clive ’01; six grandchildren; brother Jim ’68; and sister Harriet Bolin. The class extends its condolences to them all.