Neil Gildea ’74

Neil died at his home in Singapore Jan. 4, 1996, the result of an accident, and was laid to rest in his native Pittsburgh.

An exceptional student at Princeton, Neil graduated summa cum laude and won the Isidore Brown thesis prize in sociology. To the many who counted him as a friend, Neil was generous, loyal, and often spectacularly funny. He was one of the last members of Cannon Club.

The Princeton-in-Asia program changed Neil's life. His two years in Singapore with PIA were the start of a lifelong fascination with the Far East. With his extraordinary fluency in Chinese and a Wharton MBA in international finance, Neil realized his dream of working in Asia. He held a number of executive positions with Goodyear Tire and Rubber, including managing director of company subsidiaries in Korea and Malaysia.

Though hugely successful in the corporate world, he never defined himself by his business accomplishments. He was a loving, attentive father, a wonderful writer, and caretaker for treasured friendships.

To his beloved parents Val and Con, brother Dan, children Leslie and Jake, and wife Diefen, his friends from Old Nassau extend their warmest sympathy.

The Class of 1974