Carlton Daniel Petrie, Jr. – 50th Reunion Essay

Carlton Daniel Petrie, Jr.

Date of Death: 10-Oct-2003

College: Morse

From Sam Weisman: I met Dan at the start of sophomore year, when we started living in Morse College. I had joined the SOB’s freshman year, and my class immediately elevated the quality of the group. We had two members who were guitarists, and we wanted to add a third. I knew Dan played and sang, so he tried out. Dan fit right in with the craziness of our group, but he was also a charming, generous, and funny presence. He was a wonderful friend, and a great cohort in our group. I think the last time I saw Dan was in ’88 at the SOB 50th Celebration. Just a great guy.

From Andy White: I met Dan on day one when we were all moving into the Old Campus—where Dan and I were assigned to suites across the landing from each other in Vanderbilt Hall. During our four years in New Haven, Dan and I spent countless, wonderful hours together, and in our senior year we shared the highly coveted two-person “penthouse suite” atop the small tower of Morse College. Using carpentry skills from his summer jobs in Ft. Lauderdale construction, Dan built a bar in our living room, with a wall cabinet he attached to the wall behind the bar. That wall cabinet, full of glassware and booze, was a stunning addition to the suite—and also a major (but never-cited) violation of Yale’s housing rules.

Dan was one of those rare guys whose smile and warmth lit up the room when he entered. Dan always kept a special spot in his heart for his high school sweetheart, Michele Brower, whom he married a few years after we all left New Haven in June 1969.

After Yale, Dan got his law degree from the University of Florida Law School. After law school, he married Michele and embarked on a successful legal career, starting as a trial lawyer with one of the most prestigious insurance defense law firms in South Florida. During one of my visits to the Lauderdale area, I had the joy of playing golf with Dan, who taught me the most important golf lesson on the first tee—“It’s not so important how well you play this game, what’s important is that you look good doing it.”

Midway through his legal career, Dan switched sides and began working on the plaintiff’s side, where he enjoyed significant success—mostly in personal injury and product liability cases. Sadly, Dan’s professional career (and his family relationships) started taking a negative turn in his mid-40’s, and his long-term struggle with medical problems ultimately took his life at the age of 53—far too young to die!

Dan Petrie was one those happy-go-lucky people whose greatest pleasure was to make other people around him laugh and feel happy. The world is a bit less joyous in his absence.