Richard W. Vannatta Jr. ’53

Dick died Oct. 22, 2022, in Burke, Va. 

He was born in Bethlehem, Pa., and came to Princeton in the Naval ROTC program after graduating from Liberty High School in Bethlehem. At Princeton, he joined Dial Lodge and majored in aeronautical engineering. 

After a tour of duty as a pilot in the Navy, Dick did graduate work at Penn State and then went to work for General Dynamics in San Diego before returning to the East Coast to do consulting work for Presearch in Maryland. Over the years, Dick worked for various companies such as Boeing, Vought, and Convair and especially enjoyed working on the Sikorsky Stallion minesweeping helicopter and the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor. 

Predeceased by his wife, Lucille, Dick is survived by three children, two of them Princeton graduates, and seven grandchildren.