Owen A. Shteir ’55

Owen, a physician known also for his devotion to gardening and literature, died Feb. 9, 2025. He was born May 30, 1933, in Philadelphia and attended Princeton High School, where he participated in publication of the student newspaper and band. He excelled in science, having been a finalist in what was then the Westinghouse Science Talent Search.

At Princeton, he majored in biology and joined Prospect Club and the Outing Club. His interests included music, travel, and camping. After Princeton he attended Yale Medical School, enrolled in a dermatology residency at the Skin and Cancer Hospital in Philadelphia, then settled in Princeton and joined the Princeton Medical Group, where he practiced for the rest of his career. He had a strong interest in tropical skin diseases and donated time as a medical volunteer in the U.S. Indian Service as well as in clinics in Brazil and the Caribbean.

Owen and his wife, Marilyn, loved their time in Princeton. She taught in the public schools and they both found much to do. As he noted in our 50th-reunion yearbook, “Princeton is no longer an isolated university town in the midst of New Jersey fields. It is still an exceptional community and a very pleasant one to reside in. Marilyn and I have enjoyed auditing many classes and attending various seminars over the years. I’m impressed that Princeton University is a better place now than it was in the years celebrated by the Class of ’55. It’s gratifying to see that institutions as well as people can grow and mature.”

Owen is survived by Marilyn and their two children, Rachel and Seth.