Peter Wells Watkins ’54

Peter, known as “Pierrot,” died Aug. 29, 2021, in Philadelphia. 

He prepared for Princeton at King School in Stamford, Conn., majored in history, wrote his senior thesis on Roosevelt and the Tennessee Valley Authority, joined Tiger Inn, was a member of Theatre Intime, and played 150-pound football. He was an assistant in the Television Research Project.

After service as a pilot in the Marines from 1954 to 1958, he attended Columbia University, the Sorbonne, and College de France. 

A Europhile like his father, after engagement with Allen & Co., New York, he became director of the Moroccan & African Development Corp., Casablanca, Morocco, in the late ’50s and early ’60s. He moved to Paris as managing director of Klehe & Cie, Paris and  New York, and subsequently held executive positions in the satellite and aerospace industries, acting as liaison between U.S., European, and African regulatory agencies. He retired from Sirius/XM Radio in 2005. 

Peter was an avid reader, historian, linguist, geopolitical analyst, epicurean, and world traveler. He loved lively and challenging conversation with family and friends, good wine, tennis, books, French culture, and Franco-American friendship and exchange. Friends characterized him as a “truly a Renaissance man,” a “raconteur of distinction and a delightful gentleman,” and a “gentle and elegant presence.”

He is survived by his wife, Diane Dunning Watkins; children Sophie and Christophe; four grandchildren; and a sister, Derry.