Morris Cheston Jr. ’59

After a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, Mo died of a heart attack June 5, 2016. 

Horse, as he was known to us, came to Princeton from St. Paul’s School, bringing hockey and lacrosse sticks with him. He dined at Ivy Club, majored in economics, and spent much of his time on turf and ice, excelling as a lacrosse midfielder and becoming captain of the hockey team. 

His Navy ROTC commission set him aboard a Navy destroyer in the Pacific for two years; he then attended Harvard Law School. He then joined Ballard Spahr in Philadelphia, becoming a partner soon after. But if law was Mo’s occupation, hockey was his mistress. In 1960, while in the Navy, he tried out for the gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic team, just missing the final cut, and he continued playing for many years with, among others, the St. Nicholas Hockey Club of New York. 

His pro bono contributions were legion and legend, comprising wildlife and horticultural organizations, schools, and churches. 

In recognition of a game well played and a life well lived, the Princeton hockey team wheeled Mo out to center ice to drop the puck for the 2016 Yale game at Baker Rink. 

Mo was survived by Cynthia, his wife of nearly 50 years, who sadly died shortly after he did; daughter Melinda; and sons James II and Morris III ’92.