Mitchell J. Goroski Jr. (1943-2025)

The class has learned of Mitch's death in New York City on February 25 after a health emergency five days earlier. Click here for his obituary. There was a private gathering to celebrate Mitch's life with burial shortly after.

 

Mitch came to Princeton from Eastside High School in Patterson, NJ, matriculating with the class of '64. A member of Dial Lodge, he was an English major. The online obituary above summarizes Mitch's life and career as an environmentalist and lawyer eloquently. Mitch and his wife Jane, along with Mitch's unforgettable hat, were regulars at '66 events on the east coast, always being a welcome presence at Alumni Day, Reunions, and At the Races. A few of us were fortunate enough to experience Mitch's wit and humor; for the rest of us, his 55th Reunion essay and classmate memories will give examples. We were expecting to see Mitch and Jane at the 2025 Alumni Day dinner and several asked if anyone had seen Mitch, but now know the sad reason for his absence. Mitch's absence will be felt at future '66 gatherings.

 

Nassau Herald

55th Reunion

Memories and Tributes

Tom Young '64:

At Princeton University, from the fall of 1960 to the summer of 1964, I shared rooms with several young men. Four of us poured into our room at 332 Witherspoon Hall, having no insight that any access to this suite would be made inaccessible (as of 1962 or so) for some reason. Mitchell Goroski, from Paterson, NJ, would stay up studying far into the night, while I (Tom Young, from Cadiz, Ohio) would get up as early as 5 a.m., since I had a scholarship job as a waiter in Commons. Mitch would slow his reading, and grin, and say something. Soon we would have an hour’s discussion, unrecorded and possibly without reference, lost to all time. Later in the day, say 8 p.m., Mitch and I might talk over a beer or two. Of course in NJ, the drinking age in 1960 was 21. Our better angels, our janitor and his friends provided us with alcohol on close to a weekly basis.
 

In 1962, with Mitch back with me, we were certain that concentration, discipline, and the avoidance of foul language would see us through. And it has, though our language has been bowdlerized, perhaps by better angels who watch over Princeton graduates. When I had arrived at Princeton, I knew no one, had met no one from Princeton. For the 65 years after meeting Mitch in Witherspoon, we have been best friends, keeping in touch by letters, phone calls, visits and of course Reunions. Neither of us forgot the other. Ever.

Undated Reunion; Mitch '66 and Tom Young '64 Freshman year roommates. Those were the days.

 

Ken Krosin:

Ruth and I have two lasting memories of Mitch and Jane. First, we saw them every year without fail at Reunions, where we caught up on life. Second, after Mitch learned that we owned a beagle, he invited us to go “beagleing” with them at a farm in Northern Virginia. Hysterical experience watching dozens of beagles sniff and howl until they tracked down a rabbit. We will miss him.

 

Lynn Klotz '65:

The last time I saw him in person was at Ed Sylvester’s ’65 memorial service at Arizona State, which was several years ago. The one thing I remember from the memorial service is that he made me laugh. He used a fake picture ID of one of the comedy team The Three Stooges. When he showed it to anyone, they accepted it as a valid ID, even though he didn’t look remotely like any one of The Three Stooges. As far as I can tell, the point was that you could fake out almost anyone with a comical fake ID as long as you acted earnestly. Mitch had a bizarre sense of humor. There are many other examples, but I would have trouble recalling them accurately.

 

Tom Wagner '64

While there are many things I remember about my years with Mitch, two small memories seem to come first to mind. Because Mitch lived near Princeton and his family had a restaurant, all of us prospered by Mitch sharing the bounty of better things to eat than what was offered at the dinning hall that his parents often brought. I also remember Mitch offering “Sweeney”, the campus Cop, Irish Coffee, every morning so we never had any issues with him or his side-kick!

 

Tim Smith:

Perhaps because he entered Princeton in an earlier class than ours, Mitch always seemed to be older and wiser than most of us in our class.  I was always impressed with his authenticity and positive outlook on life.  He was a kind person and I remember when at one of our reunions he spontaneously invited Ilia and me to visit him right after the reunion.  He was a special person indeed, and I grieve for his loss to his loved ones and to those of us in the class who knew and valued his friendship.  I am very grateful for his presence in my life.  May he rest in peace.

 

 

If you have photos or memories that you wish to share, please send them to the '66 Memorial Team (66_MemorialTeam@tiger1966.org). We will add them to this page.