Thompson Webb Jr. ’39

Distinguished scholar, editor and publisher, Tom died Sept. 13, 1998, of cancer at his home in Madison, Wis. Tom and his brother Howell were two of the five '39ers who pioneered Princeton's Divisional Program in the Humanities. After receiving an MA in English at Harvard he taught briefly before entering the Navy as an ensign in 1942, ranging the Pacific from Guadalcanal to the Aleutians aboard escort carriers. He found his life's work when in 1947 he became director of the University Press of Wisconsin, which grew to prominence under his leadership. He retired in 1984 as president of the Assn. of University Presses and of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. A skilled photographer, Tom was a member of a Brown U. archaeological expedition in Kharga, Egypt, in 1988. An avid sportsman, he skied, canoed, sailed, and played squash and tennis into his 81st year. To Diana, his wife of 57 years, his brothers Bill '43 and John '45, sons Tom III and Gordon, and four grandchildren, we extend our sincere sympathy.

The Class of 1939