Walter H. Lippincott, Jr.

Walter H. Lippincott Jr. died on January 18, 2025, in Lawrenceville, NJ, two days after his 86th birthday. He is survived by his children, Sophie Ferrer, Hugh Lippincott, and Sammy Prentice, his sister, Helen Jennings, and three grandchildren, Hudson, Archie, and Josie Ferrer.

Walter was born on January 16, 1939 in Philadelphia, PA, the eldest son of Walter and Helen Lippincott. He graduated from the St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH in 1956 and from Princeton University in the class of 1960 with a degree in History. After a temporary stint working at Morgan Guaranty bank, which he hated, Walter moved into his lifelong career in book publishing. After learning the ropes at Harper and Row and Cambridge University Press, he became director of Cornell University Press in 1983. In 1986, he returned to his alma mater to run the Princeton University Press until his retirement in 2005. Guiding PUP through a rapidly changing industry in the 90s, Walter took particular pride in his ability to find and hire excellent talent; he felt that his greatest professional legacy was having helped start and advance the careers of many of the finest people in the business.

Walter had many great loves. Books of course were one of them, and he filled every corner of his living spaces with stacks of books (and book reviews) in various states of being read. But it is likely that his friends will remember his love of opera most vividly, which started in his sophomore year at Princeton in a music appreciation course. Walter, in his listening room with the latest high fidelity speaker system, surrounded by wall to wall records, conducting baton in hand, was the picture of a happy man. In his younger days in New York, he would attend multiple performances a day at the Met. In one favorite anecdote, he took a date to a performance with standing room only tickets. In those days, the Met would open the doors a bit before the performance, and the faithful would race up the stairs to the standing section in the hopes of snagging the best spots. Walter and his date were in the race when she tripped and fell on the steps. Undaunted, Walter carried on without her - as everyone knew, the sound wasn’t nearly as good at the back, something that his date no doubt appreciated when she arrived several minutes later with a bit of a limp. No word on whether there was a second date.

Another great love of Walter’s was sports, particularly his beloved Phillies and Eagles. Growing up in the depths of Phillies ineptitude in the 40s and 50s, Walter never lost his innate pessimism that something terrible was always just around the corner for his teams, whether in the World Cup or at Jadwin gymnasium. He was rewarded for his long years of suffering with Phillies World Series victories in 1980 and 2008, and then finally an Eagles Super Bowl in 2018.

Walter met Caroline Seebohm at a Super Bowl party in 1973, and they were married in June 1974. Walter and Caroline shared many interests, including opera, sports, and travel. Although they divorced in 1991, they maintained a wonderful partnership until the end of their lives. Their travels took them to Egypt, India, Antarctica (twice!), all over Europe, and perhaps most importantly, Mount Desert Island in Maine. Walter spent time in Northeast Harbor almost every summer of his life, hiking, eating lobster, and entertaining guests, and he was able to convince many of his friends that they should be doing the same!

As important as the locations on his trips were the restaurants, starting with Walter’s first trip to France with his family at the age of 11. Forever after, Walter would keep up with the latest doings of Michelin starred restaurants. As one example, a favorite place in Philadelphia would call him specifically whenever they received a brace of pheasants to make sure he knew to come in. Walter’s love of good food persisted to the end of his life; he declared several times that he’d just eaten the best hot dog of his life after firing up the barbecue in Northeast Harbor.

Walter was keenly intelligent and a lively conversationalist. He loved to interact with the brilliant scholars he was fortunate enough to work closely with professionally, and he also loved to advise young people on their career paths and made sure they understood the perils of academia. With Caroline, Walter would host wonderful dinner parties, bringing together academics and intellectuals of all disciplines, and never hesitating to provide his own strongly held opinions. His smile and ungoverned laughter were unmistakable.

He became even more open to new experiences in the later years of his life. Not only was the last hot dog the best hot dog, but the latest opera performance was astounding, he’d never seen anyone play as well as the new Eagles rookie, or been as entertained by the latest TV show. He was a loving father, proud of each of his children, and he particularly surprised us as a doting and patient grandfather, giggling and bouncing his granddaughter on his lap. His ability to keep taking pleasure in all the varieties of life even at the age of 80 was inspiring, and a sign of a man who lived life well and fully.

A celebration of Walter’s life will be held at the Knickerbocker Club of New York City on February 28th. Please RSVP to hugh.lippincott@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Met.

Services are entrusted to Jersey Shore Cremation, 43 Taylor Avenue, Manasquan, NJ.