L. Jerome Wolcott Jr. ’57

Jerry was decisive. He decided to come to Princeton whereas most of his family had gone to Harvard, Yale, or Cornell. In the Air Force as a supply officer, he decided to become a fighter pilot, and did. A mechanical engineer and president of a division of a family-owned foods company in the irrigated desert of eastern Washington, he decided to move to congenial, balmy southern California, take two years to earn an MBA, and then spend the rest of his working life as a tax auditor for the IRS in Irvine, Calif.  

Then he decided to die. “One day, he told me, ‘I’m done,’ ” his daughter, Jennifer Lagrow, said. He stopped eating and drinking. Two weeks later, on Dec. 30, 2018, he died. Her explanation: As an engineer, one moves logically, from step to step, or stage to stage.  

Jennifer described Jerry as “laid-back, quiet, sometimes sarcastic.” At Princeton he hawked wares at football games for the Banner Agency; played bridge, poker, and the guitar; and dined at Elm Club. His senior-year roommate was Whit Courtney.  

Jerry is survived by Jennifer, son Paul, and three grandchildren whom he loved. Jerry’s wife predeceased him by six months. Another son, John ’87, died suddenly during his junior year attending Princeton.