Sydney Sayre Combs ’40

Our Son of Kentucky died Oct. 12, 2004, in Lexington after a long bout with Alzheimer's disease.

After Woodberry Forest School, Syd majored in biology at Princeton, winning departmental honors. He was captain of the varsity polo team, and a member of the skeet club and Charter Club. Syd was in the Army's First Armored Division during the North African campaign and earned the Distinguished Service Cross. Wounded, he returned to the U.S. After additional service in England and Ireland, he retired in 1946 as a major.

He was a self-employed Realtor and broker until retirement. After his marriage to Ann Haldeman Price, the family spent vacations at the winter home of the Haldeman grandparents. This was reported to be the oldest beachfront house in Naples, Fla., and became the scene of 1940 mini-reunions and the annual Combs Party for the Princeton Club of Southwest Florida, of which Syd was a director.

Syd was a founding member of the Idle Hour Country Club, and a member of the Iroquois Hunt Club, Kentucky Society for the Preservation of Useful Knowledge, and many other clubs and organizations.

In addition to his wife of 64 years, Ann, he is survived by sons Christopher S. and Sydney Sayre, daughter Mary Combs Winans, and three grandchildren. To them, his classmates extend deep sympathies.

The Class of 1940