Born in Hagerstown, Md., El came to Princeton from Culver Military Academy. He majored in history and was a member of Campus Club.
After graduation, he served three years in Tokyo, Japan, with the Army Security Agency and then entered Columbia University’s School of Business, where he earned an MBA. El spent the next four years working in investment banking and then moved South to work in the investment banking and securities industry in Atlanta.
After 1971, El moved into commercial and residential real-estate development and property management in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. He was also active in Republican Party affairs and served as a delegate to the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans. El and his wife were longtime members of numerous clubs and organizations in Atlanta, including the Atlanta History Center, Atlanta Botanical Garden, the High Museum of Art, the Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Trust, and the Nature Conservancy, as well as longtime members of the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta.
El died Sept. 22, 2019, at his home in Atlanta. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Patricia; five children; and six grandchildren.