William K. Bixby ’46

Bill “Bix” Bixby died peacefully March 21, 2010, at his retirement home in Melbourne, Fla.  

He was born in St. Louis in 1924 and came to Princeton in June 1942. During World War II he was a pilot in the 8th Air Force, flying 24 missions in a P-51 Mustang. Decorated for his service, he attended many Air Force reunions.

Returning to Princeton in 1946, he roomed in Blair Hall with Alan Lukens, Owen Roberts, and Bruce Hall. A premed student, he joined Cap and Gown.  

Upon graduation in 1948, Bix married Barbara “B.J.” Evans and they moved on to the University of Missouri to gain farm expertise, later setting up a very successful dairy business in Clewiston, Fla., clearing 640 acres of bushland to make a dairy. After some years, they sold out and bought a garden-supply business in Melbourne. Bix was in the choir at the Presbyterian Church there, and spent summers in Bolton Landing, N.Y., at a family house on Lake George.

Bix is survived by B.J.; their children, Lucy, Jenny, Ethan, and Will; and 10 grandchildren. Their oldest son, Peter ’72, died in 2003. To them all, the class sends deepest condolences. We have lost one of our best members.