Robert W. Holliday ’44

KNOWING THAT his cancer would most likely be terminal, Bob continued his lifestyle for over two years with family and friends in Mt. Kisco and in Florida during the winters. His was an inspirational life till the very end, on Aug. 24, 1993.

Raised in Bronxville, N.Y., where his elementary school classmates included Jim Drorbaugh and Herb Hobler, Bob was president of his highschool class and was center on the football team. At their 50th reunion, he was especially honored for his devotion to and compassionate caring for his legion of friends and admirers.

At Princeton, Bob roomed with Bob Hack, Art Morgan, Jim Drorbaugh, Jack Sinclair, and Tom Wolf He was a member of Cap and Gown. He majored in biology, went on to Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, and was a captain at Brooke General Hospital in Texas, Sensing the coming importance of open heart surgery, he took special training in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery and subsequently performed the first open heart surgery in Westchester county at Grasslands Hospital in 1959. Associated with numerous hospitals throughout Westchester, he served on many surgical and hospital boards, as well as being a clinical professor at New York Medical College.

For five years, Bob served as a member of the Bedford Board of Education. Bob was also a licensed U.S. Coast Guard Captain and a member of several yacht clubs. His passionate avocation was sailing aboard his boat with family and friends. His good friend and our classmate, Dr. Hank Russell, was with him, as was Bob's family, when he died. With Florence, daughter Ellen, sons Joe and Rob, and his two grandsons, we share in the loss of a devoted Princetonian and a kind, genuine human being.

The Class of 1944