William Alfred Eddy ’42

Bill died of a brain tumor on July 18, 1989. From beginning to end, his life was one of faith, love, courage, and humor. The son of William A. Eddy '17, he was born in Princeton and attended Hotchkiss. During his undergraduate years, he continued his choir singing and skiing, graduating with high honors.

Bill served as an officer in the Marine Corps in the South Pacific during WWII and was awarded the Navy Cross. After the war, he attended General Theological Seminary in N.Y.C. He graduated in 1949 and served his first parish in LaPlata, Md. From 1952 to 1961, he served as Princeton's Episcopal chaplain. He was known for reaching out and befriending hundreds of Princeton students. He left Princeton to serve as rector at Trinity Church in Bloomington, Ind., and, later, at All Saints in East Lansing, Mich. In 1972, he received an honorary degree from General Seminary. In 1981, he was a Proctor Fellow at the Episcopal Divinity School, in Cambridge, Mass. He then served as associate rector at St. Mark's in New Canaan, Conn. After he retired in 1986, he was the part-time vicar of St. John's-by-the-Sea and St. James the Apostle in New Haven, Conn.

Bill is survived by his widow, Anne Robinson Eddy, his mother, five children, five grandchildren, two sisters, and a brother, to all of whom the class extends its deepest sympathies. His faith, courage, and intellect commanded our respect, and his enduring love and humor ensured our affection for him.

The Class of 1942