Necrology
Carl Braun Menges '51
Sep. 17, 1930-Sep. 8, 2021
Carl Braun Menges ’51 died at his home in East Hampton, N.Y., on Sept. 8, 2021. Born in New York City on Sept. 17, 1930, he was raised in Pleasantville, N.Y., and came to Hamilton from Pleasantville High School in 1947.
A member of Sigma Phi fraternity and, as a sophomore, of Doers & Thinkers honor society, he went on to major in economics and English literature. He played on the basketball team as a freshman and sophomore and thereafter, in his last two years, was a member of the soccer team and the Block “H” Club. From his sophomore through senior years he was a member of the staff of The Spectator. As a senior, Carl was elected vice president of the Class of 1951, and The Hamiltonian took note that, “the ‘Meng’ successfully divided his time between maintaining gentlemanly grades and extra-curricular [sic] activities.”
He would later recall that among the faculty members who had a lasting impact on him were Dean Winton Tolles, Professor of English Literature Frank Ristine, Professor of History Edgar B. “Digger” Graves, and Professor of German Otto Liedke.
After Hamilton, Carl entered Harvard Business School and earned an MBA in 1953. He would then spend more than a decade at Owens Corning Fiberglass in a series of marketing roles, including divisional marketing manager, until he left in 1964 for a position with the Wall Street firm of Modell, Roland, and Stone. In 1966, he joined the investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and for the next 33 years held various positions in the firm, all with increasing levels of responsibility. Upon his retirement in 2000, he was vice chairman. His entry in the Hamiltonian yearbook proved to be prophetic: “Carl will make as favorable an impression on the big business world as he has among his many friends at Hamilton.”
Carl was a loyal and engaged alumnus whose commitment to Hamilton encompassed decades of leadership as a trustee and fundraiser. From 1962 to 1963, he served as president of the New York City chapter of the Alumni Association; he went on to serve for 16 years as a charter trustee, including a term as vice chairman, and then as a life trustee. He was especially active in fundraising, serving as chair for major gifts during the 1990 capital campaign. With his wife, he established The Carl B. and Cordelia S. Menges Scholarship for students from Suffolk County, Long Island, where they had a second home and where they eventually retired. As part of the larger Eugene M. Tobin Presidential Fund for Faculty Innovation, again with Cordelia’s support, Carl established the Menges Fund to enable faculty to develop or redesign courses, engage in research related to the recipient’s pedagogy, introduce technology in coursework, and otherwise promote curricular excellence and innovation. Always an enthusiastic donor and volunteer, and an early member of the Joel Bristol Associates, Carl was a leading advocate for long-range philanthropy who was fond of saying, "Accomplishing personal planning with charitable objectives unleashes the power of planned giving."
His service was, however, by no means limited to supporting the College. He was a member of the governing boards of a number of organizations located in New York City, including the Hospital for Special Surgery, where he also became a life trustee; the Association of Homemaker Services; the Allen Stevenson School; the Greenwall Foundation; the Boys Club of New York; and as a trustee of the New-York Historical Society.
His interest in history, and in particular American history of the late 18th century, led to co-founding the Alexander Hamilton Institute in Clinton, N.Y., where he established the Carl B. Menges Colloquium devoted to significant themes in American history.
Sports represented another dimension of Carl’s life. He was a member of the U.S. Seniors Golf Association, playing courses all over the country. He played squash, skied, and was a devoted fan of the New York Yankees, never missing an important game and traveling on two occasions to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., to observe inductions of favorite players.
In addition to his wife, Carl B. Menges is survived by three sons, including Samuel G. Menges ’00; and five grandchildren. He is also survived by his nephew, Peter W. Menges ’85, and his wife, Elizabeth Finegan Menges ’84, and their sons Andrew ’12 and Jake ’17; his nephew, Stuart J. Murray ’92, and niece, Dorothy Murray Belshaw ’87; and his nephew, John McCrea IV ’79. He was predeceased by his brother Hermann Menges, Jr. ’53, P’85, GP’12,’17.
