Richard Rohr Zundel ’35
Dick died Sept. 15, 1998, in JFK Hospital near his home in Edison, N.J. He was 85. He was a class favorite at Lawrenceville and Princeton, where he played freshman football and hockey and rowed on the varsity crew. He belonged to Cannon Club, majored in chemical engineering, and after graduation joined Shell Oil Co., working at its Norco, La., and Wood River, Ill., refineries before moving to NYC headquarters in 1947. Four years earlier he had married Kathryn Kemp, a Smith graduate. They settled in Edison; Dick joined the First Presbyterian Church of Metuchen, Metuchen Country Club, and the Riding and Hunt Club. He was Lawrenceville Alumni Assn. president (1949-50) and became a Cannon trustee in 1951.
When Shell moved headquarters to Houston in Jan. 1970, Dick took early retirement. But, as he reported in '35's 50th Reunion Yearbook, this "beaching" lasted a mere six weeks. "With the help of staunch classmates," he joined Mobil Oil Co. in Mar. 1970, staying until 1978. "That's it for chemical purchasing," he told friends. Then, in 1983, Mobil again beckoned, and Dick signed on for a twoday work week -- a "Kelly Girl" deal ending with a third retirement 15 months later. "I'm available to give short courses in retirement to neophyte classmates who need them," he noted wryly.
Dick's beloved Kathryn died in Dec. 1997. There are no descendants.
The Class of 1935
Paw in print
November 2025
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Kathleen Donnison
1 Month AgoFond Memories from Florida
My family vacationed with Richard and Kathryn every year in Fort Lauderdale. I was a child for most of that time and they treated me as if I were their daughter. I can picture them by the pool, Kathryn with her Tab and Coke, Richard with a martini. I loved them so much. Rest in peace, my old friends.