Roger Coit Dixon ’36 *42

Roger died of a cerebral hemorrhage Jan. 30, 2010, in his hometown of Mitchellville, Md.  

The son of a Princeton economics professor, Roger majored in chemistry, but soon after graduating, foreign relations became his chief interest. He earned a Ph.D. in economics at Princeton in 1942. He spent his entire career in the Foreign Service, much of it in the Department of State. He was particularly adept in the area of trade, tariffs, copyrights, and patents. He helped negotiate the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and was on CoCom, which regulated trade with the then-Soviet bloc. He held top-level positions in our embassies in Copenhagen and Paris.

Roger married twice: to Nancy Scott, whom he lost to cancer in 1950, and to Ruth Priest Strong, whom he married in 1960. Ruth also predeceased him.

Princeton meant a lot to Roger. Among things he left behind were scrapbooks with news clippings about Princeton and particularly Princeton football. A closet contained his reunion jacket.

His survivors include two stepsons, Michael and Peter Strong; and four grandchildren, Laurie, Jackie, Mary, and Myamin Strong. We salute this man of much grace, accomplishment, and wisdom, and convey our sympathy to his devoted family.