William Radford Coyle ’55

Bill, an OB/GYN physician who once estimated that he had delivered about 4,000 babies, died in Peabody, Mass., Feb. 10, 2023, the day before his 90th birthday. Bill was born Feb. 11, 1933, in New York City and attended Kent School in Kent, Conn.

At Princeton, Bill joined Key and Seal Club and majored in biology. He joined the Pre-Medical Society and the Philadelphia Club and rowed on the freshman 150-pound crew. Senior year he roomed with Taylor Vinson. A favorite memory from Princeton was blasting the new “Rock Around the Clock” record along with dozens of other undergrads at the same time.

After graduation Bill attended medical school at New York University. During that time he met his future bride, Annamary Monahan, on an empty train car by asking if he could sit next to her. They married in 1957, and he completed his OB/GYN residency at Bellevue Hospital. He went into private practice in Connecticut and then Maryland, and also taught at Georgetown and Howard medical schools.

After retirement the family moved to Venice, Fla., where Bill took great pleasure in volunteering at the Mote Marine Lab in Sarasota. He will be remembered for his kindness, generosity, sharp wit, and sense of humor (he was a virtuoso composer of “higgledy-piggledy” poetry). His family attests that he never spoke ill of anyone (save perhaps a few elected officials) and never complained.

Bill was predeceased by his wife, Annamary. He is survived by children William, James, and Mary Kathleen; and granddaughters Saoirse and Fiona.