Raymond L. Fite Jr. ’59

Ray died Oct. 6, 2015.

Born and raised in Cape May, N.J., where his family owned and managed the historic Colonial Hotel, Ray came to Princeton from Lawrenceville, where he had lettered in football, wrestling, and track.

Once on Old Nassau’s campus he donned the orange and black to compete on the 150-pound football team. He majored in religion, dined at Cap and Gown, and roomed with clubmates Dick Dortzbach, Skip Livingston, Fred Schrader, Bob Shepardson, and Doug Stewart, with all of whom he maintained a lifetime friendship.

Scant days after graduation, Ray married his Princeton sweetheart, Katharine King, and after a European honeymoon, reported to Navy OCS. During his Navy tour he served on the Project Mercury Recovery Force, assisting in bringing safely back to Earth Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Completing his service, Ray entered the family resort-hotel business in Cape May, using the off-season to earn a master’s degree in education from St. Joseph’s University and teach English at Episcopal Academy in Merion, Pa.

Deeply involved in the affairs of the Episcopal Church, Ray helped establish a Brotherhood of St. Andrew Chapter at Christ Church in Villanova, Pa.

Ray is survived by Katharine and his daughters, Carolyn and Karen, to whom we have sent condolences.