William Frank McCombs ’45 *47

Bill died Oct. 8, 2006, in Dallas, Texas.

Bill entered Princeton from Little Rock (Ark.) High School and joined Tower Club. His World War II service was as a gunnery officer with Naval forces in the Philippines. Returning to Princeton, he earned a bachelor’s in aeronautical engineering magna cum laude in 1945, spent a semester in graduate study, and then joined McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis. In 1957, Bill and his family moved to Dallas, where he worked for Chance Vought Corp., which later became LTV Corp. Bill worked for 36 years with that company until he retired in 1992.

Bill was a leading author of college textbooks about aeronautical structural analysis and design.

In 1946 Bill married Eloise Bailey, who predeceased him. He is survived by his daughter, Susan Creamer; his son, David; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and a sister, Joyce McCombs. The class expresses its sympathy to all the family.