Thomas M. Longcope III ’41

Shorty died in Essex, Conn., Dec. 30, 1997. He had suffered from Alzheimer's disease. His wife of 46 years, Elizabeth Lefferts, survives.

A son of '05, Tom prepped at St. Andrews, was a 150-pound crew man, and clubbed at Cottage. Perhaps mistakenly believing in senior year that his chances of graduating were only 50-50, he left for a job in the nylon division of duPont. His ROTC commission then came through, and he shipped to SW China to train for fighting with the Chinese against the Japanese. "Mostly rear guard stuff." His team was in on the surrender of Peking, and he ended up a major on Wedemeyer's staff.

After a stint in the textile business in NYC, Tom joined Time, Inc. in ad sales. In 1963 he opened the first of several car dealerships in Mt. Kisco, N.Y. He retired to Beaufort, S.C., in 1975, and summered at Maine's Mt. Desert Island, where he could keep up with Bill Lippincott and Paul Miller and indulge his lifelong love of sailing. After Tom's health began to deteriorate, he and Betty moved to a retirement community in Essex.

In addition to Betty he is survived by son Jeffrey, daughter Deborah, and five grandchildren. It is sad to lose a gentleman so modest, accomplished, and cheerful.

The Class of 1941