Robert L. Major ’60

Bob died April 10, 2017, in Norfolk, Va., from complications related to a 2010 spinal-cord injury and resulting quadriplegia.

He came to Princeton from Mt. Lebanon, Pa., along with four other members of the Class of 1960: Bob Williams, Bob Lewis, Mike Overholt, and John Tederstrom. At Princeton, Bob majored in geology and took his meals at Dial Lodge.

After graduating from Princeton, Bob was an early Peace Corps volunteer, serving as a geologist on the island of Cyprus from 1962 to 1964. After earning a master’s degree in mineral economics at Penn State, he relocated to Champaign, Ill., where he worked with the Illinois State Geological Survey and met his wife, Jean Armour, a librarian at the University of Illinois.

Beginning in 1974, Bob and Jean moved numerous times as he worked as a consultant and on the marketing staff of two major coal companies. They retired in Norfolk when Jean became the university librarian at Old Dominion University. During retirement, Bob was active in volunteer activities, enjoyed the cultural life of the Hampton Roads area, and served a term as president of the Princeton Club of Hampton Roads.

Bob is survived by his wife of 45 years, Jean; and a sister, Ellen Major Sell.