Peter Thomas Wotton ’42

Peter died Nov. 3, 1996, of cancer, which he had battled for more than 16 years, in Eugene, Oreg. A community activist, he was still delivering a weekly radio commentary, Elderberry Wine, at the time of his death. He had prepared the final chapter of a series of essays, that had been aired for nearly 15 years, for broadcast the day after his death.

Peter prepared for Princeton at Catalina Island School, in California, majored in English, and was a member of Court Club. He spent nearly four years in the Army Transportation Corps during the war, serving in the American, European, and Pacific theaters, rising to 1st lieutenant.

Following the war he worked in advertising with Benton & Bowles in NYC and later as advertising and publicity manager with an air-conditioning firm in Brooklyn. But his real love was public health. Following a number of years with General Electric, in Bridgeport, Conn., he obtained a master's in public health at Yale in 1965 and served as a planner with the Regional Mental Health Planning Council, and in administration at Waterbury Hospital, in Connecticut before moving to Eugene.

Aside from his radio show, Peter was perhaps best known for loving to give and get hugs-even wearing a button that said "Hugs Heal." He is survived by his wife, Carol, his son, George, and his daughters, Jackie and Cricket, to all of whom the class offers its condolences.

The Class of 1942