Stephen M. Cushmore ’68

Cush died June 4, 2025, in Philadelphia of complications due to Parkinson’s disease.

He came to us from William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, where he participated in student government and football. At Princeton, he was active in baseball. He majored in history, ate at Ivy, and roomed with Roger Hughes in Murray-Dodge Hall his senior year.

After graduating, he chose to become a teacher before shortly realizing he was not meant to be one. Instead, he joined the Army Reserve while playing minor league baseball for the Detroit Tigers for two years before realizing his fastball would be a “meatball” in the majors. He graduated from Villanova Law School with a J.D. and went into practice with a local law firm, before realizing he wasn’t really cut out to be a lawyer either. He switched careers to selling life insurance products for Northwestern Mutual Life, and it turned out to be a match made in heaven. He was with the company until a major health scare forced him to reassess and he subsequently joined the development office at the Lawrenceville School, eventually becoming the planned giving director until retiring in 2017.

For nearly 30 years Steve played an active role supporting the Bethesda Project, a nonprofit providing shelter to the homeless. He secured major gifts to replace and install systems and appliances across several shelter sites, while convincing the Philadelphia Phillies to become long-term sponsors of the organization’s mission.

The class extends its deepest sympathies to his sons Nick, Andrew, and Geo, and their families.