Samuel Wistar Polk Jr. ’53

Sam Polk, who died Aug. 12, 1997, in NYC, came to Princeton from St. Louis with a lively contingent from the John Burroughs School. Sam rowed 150-lb. crew, belonged to the pre-medical society, and majored in English. At one time or another, he roomed with John Burroughs classmates Jim Burst, Ken Read, and Dick Strassner, and also with Bob Ambrose and Ed Waesche, all of whom shared good times at Cannon Club.

Sam left school at the end of junior year to attend Columbia. After service in the Army during the Korean conflict, he returned to St. Louis and became a stockbroker. In 1966, he moved to NYC and established Plexi-Point, a manufacturing business.

Sam, Ken Read observed, was "an elegant, handsome, witty, soft-spoken gentleman and a hit with the ladies." Sam was also adroit with cards and seemed at his best with them during late night sessions with his many friends. Sam never married. The class mourns with his sister, Eloise Polk Spivy, the passing of, as Dick Strassner said, this "kind, gentle, thoughtful man." Sympathy may be expressed by contributing to "Class of '53 Memorial Scholarship," c/o Class Treas. Frederick S. Crispin, 3 Cedarbrook Terr., Princeton, NJ 08540.

The Class of 1953