Richard E. Leslie ’54

Dick died Dec. 13, 2020. 

He graduated with highest honors from Garden City (N.Y.) High School, where he played lacrosse and soccer. 

At Princeton he majored in electrical engineering, an interest dating from his childhood. He joined Cloister Inn, played cornet in the band and orchestra, and was active in the Student Baptist Association. He and roommate Fred Brewer worked at the Princeton Music Center, installing hi-fi systems and repairing radios. He also worked part time at Sincerbeaux Engineering.

In June 1953 Dick married Nancy Dumont. Upon graduating cum laude he pursued a master’s degree in electrical engineering while working at Sperry Gyroscope, and eventually enjoyed a career in the aerospace industry with Airborne Instruments, TRW, and the Aerospace Corp., developing and deploying satellites and GPS systems.

An avid sportsman, Dick was an accomplished rifleman from his youth and participated in the 1960 Nationals in Ohio. Dick hiked, sailed, bicycle-raced, and ran marathons. He was accepted to run the Western 100 Endurance Run when his youngest daughter, Nancy, was stricken with terminal cancer in 1995. 

He and his wife moved to Los Osos, Calif., to be closer to their other three daughters and to help to care for daughter Nancy’s twins. He was a committed churchman and a true Princetonian, always studying, learning, experimenting, or building something. 

Dick is survived by Nancy, three daughters, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.