Robert H. Pratt ’44

ONE OF '44's FRIENDLIEST classmates died Oct. 20, 1993, after an extended illness in Richmond. Robert H. "Pooky" Pratt came to Princeton from Lake Forest Academy. At Princeton, he won the French prize, rowed on the varsity crew, and played varsity basketball, where he uniquely amazed players and fans alike by grabbing the ball with one hand.

Tall, lanky, and always with a smile, Pooky roomed one year with Frank Carr and joined Cottage. He left in Feb. 1943 to serve in the air corps for over three years. After marrying Elizabeth Walker in 1947, he practiced with Simpson, Thatcher and Bartlett in NYC, before spending many years with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. For 22 years, he was president of a venture capital company, Virginia Capital Corp., and thereafter, continued his career as a partner in a private venture capital firm.

Over the years, Pooky was very active in community affairs, as a V.P. of the Richmond Ballet, a trustee of St. Christopher's School, and a director of the Red Cross. He was also a former chairman of the Virginia Commission of Outdoor Recreation and a director of the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

Aware his time was short, Pooky went abroad with his family in August on the Q.E.2 to England and Scotland. The class extends its sympathy to his widow, Elizabeth; his three sons, David, Robert, and Henry '77; his daughter, Lisa '80; and his sister, Polly Green. We shall all especially miss his warm friendship at Reunions, which he regularly attended.

The Class of l944