William Henry Rentschler ’49

Bill died Dec. 6, 2009, at the age of 84.  

He transferred to Princeton from Yale in 1946 and majored in history. He prepared  

for college at Phillips Academy and the Berkshire School. Bill served in the Navy as a petty officer from 1943 until 1946. He was chairman of The Daily Princetonian, on the editorial board of the Tiger, a member of the Undergraduate Council, class historian, and president of Colonial Club.

The early part of Bill’s post-Princeton life was spent primarily in civic activism and politics. He twice ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican candidate from Illinois. He spent his later years mostly as a political journalist and author who had become dissatisfied with his Republican roots and embraced the ideals of the Democratic Party. A Pulitzer Prize nominee, he also won a “Top U.S. Columnist” award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. In addition, Bill ran a number of low-tech manufacturing companies in the South, aided by his son, Peter.

Bill is survived by Peter; his daughters, Mary Angevin Rentschler, Phoebe Cole, and Hope Garbo; and nine grandchildren. The class joins them in mourning the loss of this highly involved civic activist.