Stuyvesant Bonsal Pell ’53

Stuyve, affectionately called the “Energizer Bunny” by daughter Sara Pell-Stires for his stamina and consistency in rowing, running, and bicycling, died June 3, 2007, of melanoma, at his Princeton home.

For more than three decades, he was a championship rower in masters single-shell races. He ran eight marathons (his best time was 3.25) and numerous half-marathons and 10K events. Three years ago, he bicycled some 2,500 miles from his older daughter Alison Pell Helms’ Seattle home en route to Princeton, but was severely injured in an accident at the Ohio/Pennsylvania border. After recovering, he resumed his vigorous regimen.

His father was Walden Pell ’24. Stuyve prepared at St. Mark’s, rowed 150-pound crew, and belonged to Colonial Club. He served three years in the Marines, was discharged as a first lieutenant, and married Patricia Doom, who predeceased him in 2003.

Sara described his determination during his last days. He was confined to a hospital bed on the first floor but one morning was found in his own second-floor bed. “How did you get here?” Sara asked. His reply: “I crawled up the stairs.”

Other survivors are Stuyve’s sister, Mary Whitmer, three grandsons, and his companion, Louise Dunham. Jim Neff represented ’53 at the funeral. As Princeton neighbor Fred Crispin said, “Stuyve was a class act.”