Joseph O. Rand Jr. ’48

Joseph died Aug. 5, 2021, at the Charles George Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Asheville, N.C. He had turned 95 about two months prior.

A native of St. Louis, Joseph served in the Navy during World War II, including aboard a Navy cargo ship in the South Pacific. Following an injury that prematurely ended his service time, he enrolled at Princeton. He majored in economics and took his meals at Cottage Club.

After working for what is now International Shoe Co., Joseph was called to the ministry, earning degrees from Union Presbyterian Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, and McCormick Theological Seminary. 

Joseph’s subsequent ministry of more than 40 years brought him to Paris, Mo.; Houston, Texas; Danville, Ky.; and then back to Princeton, where he became associate pastor. In 1990 he retired to Black Mountain, N.C.

Joseph is survived by his wife of 70 years, Elizabeth McMurray Rand; three children, Lanier Rand Blum, David McMurray Rand, and Susan Elizabeth Rand; nine granddaughters; and five great-grandchildren. A son, Peter McMurray Rand, predeceased him. The Class of 1948 extends its sympathies to the family of our delightful classmate.