Sydney Jaffe ’79

Neurologist and avid cyclist Sydney Jaffe died Sept. 30, 2004, following a bicycle accident on her way to work at Yuma (Ariz.) Regional Medical Center. She was 47.

Always a soft-spoken person, Syd changed at Princeton from a shy freshman into a "small but mighty" Commons captain whose dry wit was in evidence when she would point out that someone on her shift had "missed a spot — again."

In addition to working at Commons, Syd was a resident adviser, a member of Hillel and the Center for Jewish Life, and a participant in Outdoor Action. Her roommates included Vivian Pyle, Robin Eisman, and Susan Cayer.

After graduation, Syd enrolled at Texas A&M University College of Medicine and earned her medical degree in 1984. She did an internal-medicine residency in Roanoke, Va., a neurology residency at Wake Forest University, and an EMG/EEG fellowship in Morgantown, W. Va.

After her death, tributes to Syd came from medical-school classmates and patients' families. One family cited Syd's skill, caring, and compassion, and their luck in having her in their lives at a critical time.

Syd is survived by her mother, Audrey Jaffe; her sister, Deborah Jaffe; and her grandmother, Rose Lipman. The class extends belated but heartfelt sympathy to them all.