R. Earle Leonard Jr. ’50

Earle, whose career took him from the East Coast through the Midwest and then to the West Coast, died peacefully Sept. 13, 2019, in Seattle.

Born and raised in Trenton, N.J., he graduated from Mercersburg Academy and served in the Navy from 1944 to 1946 before coming to Princeton. He was one of our married veterans, having wed Connie Rockhill in June 1947. He majored in economics and belonged to Cannon.

After graduation and a short stint with another company, he joined John A. Roebling’s Sons Corp. in Trenton. Two years later this job took him to Chicago and then St. Louis. He left Roebling’s in 1959 to go into business with a friend, distributing gold-embossing films to the shoe and bookbinding industries. By our 25th reunion, Earle was in Longview, Wash., as a sales manager for Reynolds Metals, the company where he closed out his professional career.

He was an avid golfer, traveler, leader of several civic and religious organizations, and proud Princeton alum.

Earle is survived by his five children. Connie, his wife of 68 years, predeceased him four years earlier.