R. Bruce Beckner ’71

Surrounded by his family, Bruce died March 21, 2022, after a most varied and rewarding life and a courageous 13-year battle with prostate cancer.

Bruce came to Princeton from Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Va., as a highly recruited rower and scholar and was stroke on our great freshman crew. He shifted his interests to writing and photography, spurred by roommates Lutz and Ladra. A stint with The Daily Princetonian led to editing the Bric-a-Brac senior year. Bruce majored in English, lived in Blair, and enjoyed his Colonial Club friendships. Classmates remember him for his gentle sense of humor and for being adventurous.

After a master’s at Johns Hopkins, he became a reporter with the Houston Chronicle, where Princeton classmates introduced him to Texas life and, most happily, to his future wife, Sallie. They married in 1974 and had three daughters. Bruce went on to graduate from the University of Virginia Law School in 1978. A self-described competitive attorney during his 37-year career in the Washington, D.C., area with three legal firms, Bruce was devoted to his family. They accompanied him on sailing trips to Chesapeake Bay, the Caribbean, and the Mediterranean as well as RVing to national parks around the country. He especially enjoyed the 20-plus years of reunions with his freshman crew mates.

The class extends its condolences to Sallie; daughters Laura, Amanda, and Helen; grandchildren Nathaniel and Eliza; other family, and friends.