William P. Burks ’55

Bill, an accomplished surgeon, devoted golfer, and an awesome third baseman in high school, died Jan. 28, 2025, in Princeton.

He was born Feb. 28, 1933, in Elizabeth, N.J. and attended Pingry School, where he played football, basketball, and baseball and was involved in journalism. At Princeton, he majored in biology and joined Quadrangle Club. He was quarterback on the 150-pound football team that was undefeated his senior year. Bill won numerals on the freshman tennis team and was manager of the varsity team. He also played IAA squash and tennis. His senior-year roommates were Joe Myers and Cal Edgar.

After Princeton, Bill graduated from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and interned at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York City, where he advanced to chief resident of general surgery. He served as a captain in the Army Medical Corps from 1964 to 1966, spending a year as a trauma surgeon in Vietnam. Bill joined Princeton Surgical Associates as a partner in 1966. An expert in vascular surgery, he was an attending surgeon at the Medical Center of Princeton and served for a time as chief of general surgery.

Bill served for many years as a leader of the Princeton Area Community Foundation, the Princeton Medical Center Foundation, Princeton Day School, and the Princeton Investors Club, as well as the Alumni Schools Committee, Varsity Club, and Annual Giving. Bill and his wife, Judy, were members of the 1746 Society.

Bill was predeceased in 2021 by his wife of 66 years, Judy, whom he met at a tea dance hosted by his mother when he was 17. He is survived by four children, Katharine, Elizabeth, Deborah, and William Jr.; 13 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.