Ralph R. Riehl Jr. ’46

Ralph "Bud" Riehl Jr. died Dec. 25, 2006, after an extended battle with cancer. He was born Oct. 23, 1923, and lived and died in Erie, Pa.

Bud came to Princeton from Mercersburg Academy. He enlisted in the Navy ROTC

(V-12) program in June 1943 and transferred to the Cornell University School of Engineering. After graduation from Cornell in June 1945 he moved to the Columbia midshipmen's school and then the Naval Supply School at Harvard. After his discharge as a lieutenant in 1954 he joined his father in the real-estate business in Erie, where he designed and built residential and commercial buildings, and was an active member of a variety of business and social organizations and activities.

In his college years he was an Olympic-caliber swimmer and the captain of the swimming teams both at Princeton and Cornell. Later he was an avid sailor and a certified scuba diver who loved swimming, gardening, and traveling.

In 1946, Bud married Susan van Cleve in Erie, where they recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. She survives him, as do their three children, Christine Simonson, Ralph R. III, and Catherine McMillan; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. The class extends its deep sympathy to them all.