Paul Geary Jr. ’57

Pete practiced thoracic surgery but enjoyed bridge. Eventually, a person close to him said, surgery even of the thorax became routine; he branched out into other medical fields. Bridge remained his passion. “He was a numbers guy,” she added. His family related in an obituary that on vacation he would seek bridge and backgammon clubs and rate the vacation on the quality of the players. His family believed he could calculate odds faster than computers.

Pete came to Princeton from the Pingry School. At Princeton he played bridge at Charter Club into early hours with other masters, especially his best friend, Freeman Bunn. Pete was treasurer of the Bridge Club and chairman of Charter Club’s entertainment committee. He played good golf and skied gracefully. He was a master at crossword puzzles, too, and enjoyed country music, show tunes, and spy thrillers.

Pete’s medical practice of a half century included trauma care, vascular surgery, and the then-new study of burn medicine. He graduated from Johns Hopkins medical school, doing his residency there and at a Miami hospital with the Air Force in between. He practiced mostly in Orlando, retiring in 2008. In Orlando, he belonged to the First Presbyterian Church and the University Club, his local venue for bridge and backgammon. In recent years he suffered from dementia and despondency.

Pete died Jan. 8, 2021. He survived by two former wives and eight children.