Kenneth B. Sampson ’63

Ken, who had a long career in information technology, died Sept. 25, 2023, at home in Belmont, Mass., where he lived for more than 40 years.

At Princeton, Ken majored in math, marched with the Band, managed the fencing team, and ate at Cloister Inn. “I really appreciate the exposure my time at Princeton gave me to the arts, architecture, and history,” he wrote in our 50th-reunion book.

Ken earned an MBA at Columbia and served as an officer in the Navy via OCS. In Supply Corps School he had computer training, which led to three years at the Pentagon as a staffer in the office of special assistant to the secretary of the Navy. “I never did see the deck of a ship,” he said.

He joined New England Gas & Electric Association, later renamed Com/Energy Services Co., managing application development of commercial business systems. In 1998, he retired but stayed on a year as a consultant on the Y2K project to identify and remediate all computer systems affected by the change to the 21st century.

Ken joined the IT staff at Harvard, where he spent 10 years supporting systems for centralized human resources. He also served a decade as volunteer treasurer of Friends of Matènwa, a not-for-profit supporting children’s education in rural Haiti.

Ken enjoyed holiday celebrations and yearly birthday gatherings on the Cape. He loved the ocean and spent much of his life on the water. He worked out five days a week and was a water skier and downhill skier until late in life.

Ken is survived by his wife of nearly 40 years, Shirley; daughter Joanna Sampson and her husband Robert Whitehouse; two grandchildren; sister Deborah Edwards; and brother Thomas.