Robert John Mulcare ’57

A twinkle could appear in Bob’s eye at any moment — surprising given his usual demeanor of steadfast attentiveness, patience, and kindness. 

Bob died April 6, 2023, of cardiac myopathy. After graduating from Garden City (N.Y.) High School, Bob came to Princeton, where he joined Cap & Gown, was a Keyceptor, and roomed senior year with Pete Adams, Fred Alyea, Tom Dailey, Dean Groel, George Scurria, Peter Wiese, and Horsey Zweiback.  He was musical director of the Triangle Show (Take a Gander), for which he also composed and played piano with our recently deceased classmate, Peter Blue. They later appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Tom Dailey called Bob a natural jazz musician. 

Bob majored in biology and after graduation, studied at Columbia Physicians & Surgeons, with 21 other classmates, comprising one-quarter of the P&S class. He then served as a captain in the Army Medical Corps in Thailand and Puerto Rico, followed by a stint in vascular surgery at Methodist Hospital in Houston, renowned then for its surgical training. 

He retired in 2007 (our 50th-reunion year) after 35 years on the staff of Roosevelt Hospital, on the Columbia University faculty, and in a surgical practice in New York City. For the next 10 years he defended a doctor-owned insurance company from malpractice suits. 

In the woods at his Greenwich, Conn., home he built whimsical fairy houses, partly to maintain his dexterity. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Betsy; children Mary ’02 and Bobby ’04; and five grandchildren.