Joseph R. Hixson Jr. ’48

Joe died of pancreatic cancer Mar. 28, 1995. He was 68. For the last decade he had been living in Boston freelancing as a medical science writer and serving as correspondent and editor for the Medical Post in Toronto.

After graduating from Choate School, Joe entered Princeton while simultaneously serving in the Navy V-12 program. He majored in English but had a strong affinity for medicine. He left Princeton in his senior year, when his completed senior thesis notes inexplicably disappeared over Christmas vacation. He felt at that point he had received his education. Joe embarked on a career of medical and science writing, reporting for Medical World News, the New York Herald Tribune, and Newsweek, where he was science editor for a time. Joe was director of public affairs for Sloane-Kettering Cancer Center from 1971-72, and was author of The Patchwork Mouse, The History of the Human Body: A 5,000 Year Old Mystery, and coauthored LSD On Campus.

Writing has its place, but Joe's many friends will remember him equally for his exuberance, gleaming blue eyes, humor, and intellectual integrity. He is deeply missed. Joe is survived by his sister, Ella; his children, Judith Thompson, John, Kate, Edward, Justin, Sarah, and Mark; his stepdaughter, Anita; and nine grandchildren.

The Class of 1948