Walter Tompkins Odell ’49

Tom died on Aug. 26, 1999, in Worcester, Mass., not far from his home in Shrewsbury. He was 71. He was raised in Tomkins Cove, N.Y., and came to Princeton from Woodbury Forest School. At Princeton, he was on the varsity wrestling team and was a member of Quadrangle. He graduated with high honors from the Woodrow Wilson School.

Tom converted to Catholicism while an undergraduate and his faith was a pillar of his life thereafter. After graduation, he did graduate work at Oxford and received his PhD from Georgetown. He taught at Holy Cross for 26 years and retired in 1995. A former Trappist monk, he was an expert on Catholic political theory and a dedicated teacher and mentor to countless Holy Cross students.

In his later years, he successfully overcame cancer and a life-threatening heart attack while acting as an inspiration to others by his positive and adventurous outlook on life.

The class extends its deepest sympathy to his wife, Ann, his two sons, John and Michael, his daughter, Kathleen Korgen, his stepson, Vernon Elliott, his stepdaughter, Charlotte Elliott Mambro, and his six grandchildren.

The Class of 1949