Robert Earl Wagner ’50

Bob, a resident of Haverford, Pa., died Mar. 1, 2003, of complications from ankylosing spondylitis, a rheumatic disease he struggled with his entire adult life. He was a gentle person, and despite his painful affliction, never complained.

Bob grew up in Penn Valley. He attended Haverford, and then the Hill School, from which he graduated in 1945. He enlisted in the Navy and served as a seaman first class. He came home with a backache that signaled the beginning of his illness.

At Princeton, Bob majored in biology. A member of Quadrangle Club, he was on its graduate board for several years. After graduation, he took a job with Freeland Felt Works, a textile mill founded in 1862. He became general manager eight years later, purchased the business in 1971, and operated it until he retired in 1993.

A lifelong devotee of opera, he was on the board of directors of the Philadelphia Opera Company Guild and its treasurer for many years. He loved Princeton and Princeton football, and was invariably in the stands at home games.

In 1951, Bob married Jean Haig, who predeceased him. Our sympathy goes to his daughters, Leigh, Susan, and Karen, and his eight grandchildren.

The Class of 1950