Joseph T. Schein ’37

Joe, the longest-lived ’37 classmate and oldest undergraduate alumnus in University history, died May 24, 2024. He was 109.

Joe entered Princeton from Newark, N.J. He captained the championship freshman fencing team, lettered three times in that sport, and was considered an Olympic contender. He also played football, was on the debate team, and was a member of the Honor Society. Planning on going to medical school, he majored in modern languages with the notion that once in med school he would not have much time for humanities studies. As an undergraduate he became a protege of Abraham Flexner, who founded the Institute for Advanced Study. He also escorted Albert Einstein to Shabbat services in Murray-Dodge Friday evenings.

Joe went to the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and later trained in both pathology and psychiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. While in medical school he met Selma Snyderman, who became an academic pediatrician and his wife of 73 years. They had two sons, Roland ’74 and Oliver ’76.

Joe carried the Class of 1923 Cane as the oldest returning alumnus to Reunions eight times. His love for Princeton never wavered. He relished his time there for the opportunities it gave and was a lifelong learner and bibliophile.