Deceased March 16, 2012
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In Memory
Peter Eichler my friend of 66 years, died in the city of his birth, Los Angeles, in March 2012. We met as roommates in Morrow dormitory in the fall of 1946. Peter, Dick Myers and I roomed together at North College during our sophomore year, 1947-48. Our trio was somewhat unique, being a balance between the Manhattan sophistication of Myers, my Midwestern naiveté and Eichler’s West Coast style.
Peter transferred to Claremont Men’s College for the remainder of his undergraduate studies. At the onset of the Korean War, Peter was drafted into the army as a private. He later rose through the ranks to first lieutenant at the Officer Candidate School at Fort Riley, Kansas. He later served in the Army Finance Corp in Indianapolis.
Returning home to Los Angeles, he entered his lifelong profession in the brokerage business, initially with Bateman Eichler Hill Richards, of which he became CEO. In December 1955 he married Joan de la Chapelle, with whom he had six children, three of whom are successfully involved in the financial services business.
Peter was an engaging, witty, pleasant person with an abiding interest in history and will be missed by all who knew him.
J. William Thompson III ’50