Maurice B. Chill Jr. ’51

Pinky, a retired chief judge of the U.S. District Court of Western Pennsylvania, died on New Year’s Day 2022 following a stroke. Pinky was best known on the campus as “Princeton Charlie” at football rallies and for a standup comedy act he performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. He came to Princeton from Mercersburg Academy, majored in history, and joined Tower Club. He roomed with Walt Braham, Jeff Arrick, Vern Wise, Bill Latimer, and Bruce Kennedy. He was business manager of the Bric-a-Brac and active in several campus organizations.

Pinky’s experiences with the court-martial process while serving as a captain in the Marines turned his interest from a business career to the law. He graduated from Pittsburgh Law School and had a private practice in his hometown of Pittsburgh before appointment to the Juvenile Court of Allegheny County in 1965. This began a lifelong involvement in the campaign for improvement in the juvenile-justice system, and Pinky raised money from family foundations to establish the National Center for Juvenile Justice. His judicial concern for this issue continued following his appointment to the U.S. District Court by President Gerald Ford. 

While serving as chief justice from 1975 until 1982, he earned much praise for his opinions on issues such as civil rights, race relations, school desegregation, and civic improvements. He wrote a number of articles for professional journals on these and similar issues and was active in organizations concerned with raising judicial standards. 

Pinky was predeceased by his first wife in 1986 and his second wife in 2011. Survivors include a son and three daughters.