Sam Lipsman ’71

The class lost one of its brightest and most thoughtful members when Sam Lipsman died June 13, 2013, after a seven-month battle with cancer.

Sam graduated from Central High School in Davenport, Iowa. At Princeton he very much enjoyed his conversations and associations with Barber, Berenson, Lieber, Pottenger, Daniels, Plotnick, and Ostrow. He majored in history and was a member of Terrace. A powerful debater, he was active in the antiwar movement, including defense of the Hickel hecklers before the Disciplinary Committee.

Sam attended graduate school in German history at Yale. He had great knowledge of a wide array of topics — sports, law, history, and politics. His professional career was in journalism. He took great pride in editing the 12-volume Time-Life series, The Vietnam Experience. As publisher and editor of the award-winning Los Angeles Lawyer (the magazine of the Los Angeles County Bar Association), he was nationally recognized for his intellect, candor, warmth, mentoring, humor, and creativity. A peer commented: “Sam was always the smartest guy in the room … and the most honest.”

To his stepmother; his sisters, Robbie and Paulee; and the rest of his family and friends, the class extends deepest sympathy.