Thornton J. Anderson Jr. ’48

Andy was born Dec. 2, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, and died Feb. 8, 2017, in Longwood, Fla. He was 91. 

At Princeton he competed in soccer and track, was a member of Key & Seal, and graduated summa cum laude in mechanical engineering.  

He served in the Marines during World War II and in Korea. He retired in 1985 as a colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserve.  

He was in the CIA for 28 years, eight of which were spent overseas, including assignments up-country in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. He spent three years in a Cuban prison camp. In 1985 he retired from the CIA as a division chief. Andy held the rarely awarded Intelligence Cross and other high honors of the Intelligence Service.  

In retirement in Florida, he was founder and leader of an Episcopal church, was awarded the Grand Croix of the Knights Templar of Jerusalem, and was a leading member of the Scottish-American Society.  

Andy was predeceased by Nancy, his wife of 61 years. He is survived by one of their two sons, T.J. Anderson; and two nieces and two nephews.