Life In Our Ninth Decade: The Princeton University Class of 1966 - 60th Reunion Survey
It’s been almost 64 years since 806 of us gathered in Alexander Hall for the first meeting of the Great Princeton Class of 1966. We were almost all white, almost all American, and – at the time – all male. Over the years, some classmates have left us while others have joined, but the size and makeup of the class has remained largely unchanged. As we approach our next gathering – our 60th Reunion – paraphrasing the late New York City Mayor Ed Koch, it seems appropriate to ask, “How’re we doin’?”
To begin to explore that question, we presented the following proposition to four Artificial Intelligence programs: “Assume a population of 806 white American males born in 1944. Assume all were still alive in 1966. How many are likely to be alive at the end of 2025?” Responses ranged from 394 to 455.
By way of contrast, the Princeton Advancement Office, which pays close attention to these things, reports that at year-end 2025, roughly 570 members of our class were still with us, far more than any of the A.I. programs would have forecast. Recognizing that much of this is due to socioeconomic advantages, we’re happy to report that by the most meaningful of metrics, ’66 is holding up extremely well.
In late 2025/early 2026 we conducted a survey of our classmates, the goal of which was to provide a snapshot of how we octogenarians are dealing with the latter stages of our lives. We also asked for opinions about political issues and views about our alma mater. 236 classmates -41.4% of the class- completed the survey- which we’re told is a statistically significant rate of response. Detailed results will be published in our 60th reunion class book. What follows are some of the highlights as we see them. (A lot of numbers follow; it can’t be helped.)
I. Living Situation – Most of us (75%) are living in single family homes. 40% of the class lives in the northeast; 23% in the west; 19% in the southeast; 7% in the Midwest; 5% in the southwest; and 6% outside the US. 43% of us live in the suburbs, 27% in cities, 22% in small towns, and 8% in rural areas. About 27% of us live near where we grew up. 24% have adapted their residence to make it easier to navigate. 16% have recently moved for a variety of age-related purposes.
II. Family and Relationships – 86% of us are living with a spouse or partner. Happily, most are in good health. Inevitably, though, some of us – 7.6% – are widowed. On average, we have 2.3 children and 3.5 grandchildren. Very few of us have great-grandchildren. It seems that we got started rather late. The vast majority of us consider family to be a vitally important part of our lives.
III. Health – Not surprisingly, about 85% of us who are still around have experienced various major medical conditions, the most common being arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. 29% of us have had body parts replaced, and 12% have fallen and broken a bone. A wide variety of other ailments and procedures were also reported. Big Pharma plays a big role in our health. On average, our classmates take over six pills per day. Almost a quarter of us take 10 or more. 87% report exercising regularly, walking and strength training being the predominant activities. Perhaps that is why most of us feel younger than our age. The vast majority of us still drive and about half have some sort of sex life. Approximately one quarter of our classmates report that their physical condition significantly interferes with the lives they would like to live, while 6.0% feel similarly about cognitive issues.
IV. Faith and Final Preparations – 36 % of us believe in a Supreme Being, but only 19% regularly attend religious services. While only 45% of us have made physical provisions for death, almost all of us have wills. 62% of our classmates report that they do not fear death.
V. Lifestyle – A high percentage of our classmates socialize regularly, and most report having at least a few friends of a different race and/or political persuasion. About 70% of us have recently reached out to friends from long and ago and/or to distant relatives. Other than time spent with family, our classmates’ most popular activities are reading, exercise, volunteer work, and watching TV. Some of us still work, though only a few full-time. We are generally comfortable with digital tools and, on average, spend more than three hours a day on our computers, tablets, and smartphones. 20% of our classmates own guns. About one third of us have pets, mostly dogs. Two thirds have recently taken a lengthy vacation, and about one third have a second home that is used regularly.
VI. Political and Social Views – Our class tends to skew progressive, 53% identifying as Democrat and five percent as Democratic Socialist. 22.5% are independent, 12% are Republican, and three percent MAGA Republican. Our news sources of choice are, in order, newspapers (old school, that), cable news, and the internet.
Our survey asked how classmates feel on a scale of five (strongly support) to one (strongly oppose) about “hot-button” issues of the day. The following is a list of these issues along with the average numerical result:
1. Abortion Choice – 4.46
2. Addressing Income/Wealth Inequality – 3.81
3. Affirmative Action – 3.64
4. Climate Change Action – 4.22
5. Deportation of Undocumented Immigrants – 2.30
6. Enhanced Border Security – 3.36
7. Gun Control – 4.37
8. More Legal Immigration – 3.96
9. Same Sex Marriage – 4.18
10. Tighter Regulation of Artificial Intelligence – 3.77
11. Tighter Regulation of Cryptocurrency – 4.33
12. Transgender Rights – 3.71
We asked, from five (optimistic) to one (pessimistic), “How do you assess the long-term prospects of the United States?” The average response was 2.99. On this subject, we are decidedly ambivalent.
VII. History and Impact – Our survey asked the following: “Since we arrived at Princeton in 1962, a series of events have significantly influenced the trajectory of the American experiment. For better or worse, we’d like to know which three of these you consider the most consequential.” Awarding three points for the most consequential event, two points for the second, and one point for the third, here is the result:
1. Development of the Internet/Smartphone/Social Media – 397
2. Elections and Presidencies of Donald Trump – 277
3. Civil Rights Movement/MLK Assassination – 200
4. War in Vietnam – 118
5. Emergence of Artificial Intelligence – 107
6. Collapse of the Soviet Union – 102
7. COVID-19 Pandemic – 53
8. Election and Presidency of Barack Obama – 32
9. JFK Assassination – 31
10. 9/11, Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq – 22
11. Election and Presidency of Ronald Reagan – 17
12. Manned Moon Landings – 10
13. Watergate/Resignation of Richard Nixon – 10
14. Gulf War – 4
It is ironic that many events, seemingly so consequential at the time – e.g., the assassination of JFK, Watergate – are so far down the list. “Recency bias” likely plays a role in the results. In retrospect, we regret not including the women’s liberation movement as a category in this question. It clearly has had a major impact on the way in which our country now operates. Perhaps this omission is an inadvertent result of our all-male origins.
VIII. Princeton – Over 90% of us are happy that we chose to attend Princeton. The remainder are ambivalent. We generally approve of Princeton’s current direction, although 15% of us express some concern. 72% maintain contact with fellow classmates. About one quarter of us have children who attended Princeton. (We recognize that the responses in this section may not be particularly representative of the class as a whole. Those classmates who chose not to respond to the survey may have less connection to Princeton than those of us who did.)
IX. Reflections – Despite our advancing years, we have a positive outlook on life. The vast majority of us report being happy with the lives we’ve led and are happy most of the time. Well over 90% of us have no concerns about money. However, we do seem to have concerns about the future. Only 24% of us feel that our children and grandchildren will lead a better life than ours.
X. What has surprised you most about this stage of life? – The most typical observation is that we are happy to be alive, functioning well, and surprisingly vital despite our advanced years and physical infirmities. “Doing better than I expected” is a common theme. Several classmates, though, express a sense of loss and have concerns about declining health and mental acuity. There were many comments about the instability of our political system that few of us saw coming.
We now return to the Ed Koch question – How’re we doin’? In many respects, our cohort has much to be grateful for. We haven’t had to deal with a world war, or a great depression, or a 1918-style pandemic (measured by worldwide deaths per capita, vastly worse than Covid-19). Nonetheless, we’re in our 80s, so it’s no surprise that many of us have had significant reverses – the death of a loved one, divorce, severe health issues, financial problems. But, generally speaking, members of the Great Princeton Class of 1966 are bearing up well. We’re mostly in good spirits. We love our families, we’re politically aware, we’re engaged in our communities, we live independently, we’re self-sufficient, and we have friends. In sum, notwithstanding the challenges we face, we seem to be living lives akin to those far younger than ourselves. Our upcoming 60th Reunion gives us a chance to share our stories and to support one another. But, more importantly, it will be an opportunity to celebrate. Hey, ’66 – We’re doin’ fine!
--- Henry Von Kohorn
February 24, 2026
