Alfred Gregory ’39

Alfred Gregory ’39 died on February 24, 2010, in Napa, California.

He was born on June 21, 1917, in Maplewood, N.J., and prepared for college at Columbia High School. After Bowdoin, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, he went on to graduate from Harvard Business School. He enlisted in the Navy during World War II, and served on a destroyer in the South Pacific for four years, attaining the rank of captain. He worked as an accountant until he was 90. He acquired an eclectic collection of cars over the years, with an even more eclectic list of homemade repair materials, including awnings for roofs and telephone cords in place of hood latches. He discovered that his favorite car, a small Morris Minor, fit inside the sliding doors of his local grocery store. He delighted in a good game of Scrabble, during which he almost always played a seven-letter word and won despite his efforts to help his opponents. He was more serious and competitive while pursuing his other passions: chess and amateur magic shows. He is survived by three sons, Scott, Dave, and Jim Gregory; two daughters, Ginger Gregory and Dawn Hartwig; nine grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.