Richard Joel Kates ’66

Dick died March 9, 2020, a result of pancreatic cancer. 

Dick came to Princeton from Newton High School in Newton, Mass., where he played football, ran track, and belonged to the National Honor Society. At Princeton he majored in biochemistry, played rugby, was in the Orange Key Society, and ate at Dial Lodge, where he served as Bicker chairman. He roomed with Bob Moya, Bill Parent, and Graham Findley. 

After graduation Dick earned a medical degree from Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons, followed by an internship and residency in obstetrics and gynecology and a fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. He served as a major in the Army Reserves from 1970 to 1976. 

Dick’s medical practice was affiliated with Hartford (Conn.) Hospital. He reported in our 50th-reunion yearbook that he had delivered more than 5,000 babies, including to second-generation families and infertility patients. Sadly, he also reported that his retirement at age 70 coincided with the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. 

Dick and his wife, Maxine, had homes in Avon, Conn., and Sunapee, N.H. In addition to Maxine, he is survived by daughter Robin ’93, son Stephen, and five grandchildren. The class extends its heartfelt condolences to them all.