Peter M. Sykes ’37

Lawyer and bridge whiz Peter Sykes died on his 83rd birthday, Oct. 10, 1997, after battling two bouts of cancer. His first wife, Barbara, died in 1969, and his second, Elizabeth, in 1983; he was survived by his third wife, Jean, children Michael, Barbara "Boo," and Sally, and four grandchildren. A daughter, Ann, died at seven months. He was the son of M'Cready 1894, grandson of Charles L. 1859, and brother of Gresham M. '44.

At Exeter and Loomis, Peter was active in swimming, cross country, and boxing. At Princeton he majored in French, managed cross country, and joined Key and Seal.

After working in real estate with Pease & Elliman in NYC, he earned a law degree at Harvard and enlisted in the Army but was discharged honorably for poor eyesight. After practicing law in NYC in his father's firm, Stewart & Shearer, he moved to Cape Cod and began a law practice in Hyannis, founding Sykes and Cole in 1960.

By 1957, he had "served on too goddam many local boards, etc.," including 10 years as moderator of the Town of Yarmouth. He was overwhelmingly reelected for "his knowledge, his patience, his tolerance...despite the austerity of his demeanor on the podium, his humoris there with a pixielike quality." He served on the planning board and gold commission and enjoyed fishing and doing the NY Times Sunday crossword puzzle in five minutes.

The Class of 1937