W. Richard Cantwell ’53

Dick died Sept. 7, 2014, in Northfield, Minn. He was 82.

A native of Wilmington, Del., and a graduate of P.S. DuPont High School, Dick specialized in history, ate at Terrace Club, and sang in the Chapel Choir for four years. He met his wife, Nancy, while singing Bach at a Princeton/Vassar concert in 1950.

Dick is remembered fondly by his roommates. Norman Scott said he was “friendly, quiet, and studious.” Don Stahl remarked that Dick was so dedicated to opera that he would be listening to it on his Victrola while he and Scotty were drinking beer and tuning in to a Tiger football game on WPRU radio. As a member of Phi Beta Kappa, a Rhodes scholar, and a University of Wisconsin Ph.D. recipient, Dick received plaudits from colleagues for his “wry sense of humor and unexpected conversations revealing his wide range of interests and experience.”

He contributed substantially to the academic and musical programs at Princeton and later at Carleton College, having retired as professor emeritus of German at Carleton in 1993. Dick never lost his thirst for knowledge, reading Trollope several days before his death.

Besides Nancy, other survivors include sons W. Richard Jr., John Peter, and James Lawrence; sisters Joan Neikirk and Virginia Vermillion; and five grandchildren.