Robert Louis (Bob) Slighton, age 85, of Princeton, New Jersey, died on Sunday, June 24, in Princeton after a short battle with cancer.

Bob was born in Missouri in 1932 to Phyllis (Turner) and Robert Henry Slighton and educated at Princeton University ('53, AB in International Relations) and Johns Hopkins ('58, PhD in Political Economics).

His distinguished career in international economic policy analysis took him from California (Assistant Professor of Economics at Stanford University then Senior Research Economist at the RAND Corporation with part time positions at CalTech and UCLA) to Washington DC (National Intelligence Officer for Economics and Energy under the Director of Central Intelligence and then Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Research and Planning in the Office of the Assistant Secretary at the Department of Treasury under the Ford Administration, finally leading him back to Princeton and almost 20 years as Chief International Economist at Chase Manhattan Bank, with considerable international travel along the way.

From the West Coast to the East Coast, his professional life was peppered with travels that took him across the globe, where he sought out opportunities to sample local cuisines— even hiring a boat in Thailand to take him out on the water so he could sample his first durian, a notoriously smelly fruit forbidden in his hotel room.  Along with considerable travels taken for pleasure with his wife Margaret (McLean), these experiences helped inform his pursuit of cooking, a life-long hobby he approached with the same thorough research he applied to his economic policy analyses.

After his retirement, he was able to concentrate on his love of cooking, and for ten years held a series of cooking classes for a small group of friends.  An invitation to join Bob and Margaret for one of his elaborate meals always promised a truly memorable feast.

He is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Margaret (McLean), daughter Catherine (John Brehm), son Eric (Audrey Tung), and seven grandchildren, Laurel, Robin, Joseph, Jefferson, Elisabeth, Neil, and Russell.

A Memorial for Family and Friends to celebrate Bob's life and what would have been his 86th birthday will be held in Prospect House, Princeton University, 3:30 pm on September 10, 2018. Please RSVP to Catherine Slighton at cslighton@yahoo.com

In lieu of flowers, the family requests a contribution to Doctors Without Borders or the charity of your choice.