Dudley Allen Eppel

Dudley Allen Eppel, of Vero Beach, FL and West Tisbury, MA, passed peacefully on November 21, 2019, with Nancy, his cherished wife of 63 years, and their four children by his side. Born in Newark, NJ, on July 20, 1929, Dudley grew up in South Orange and Maplewood. He was a 1947 graduate of Columbia High School, where he was known as “Deadly Duds,” for his “leadership on the basketball court and play behind the baseball plate.” As captain of the Varsity basketball team, he was known as a “hard worker who never quit”—a truism for how he lived his life. Dudley received many athletic awards, also contributing to his baseball team’s win of the NJ Sectional State Championship in 1946. He was recruited for a post-graduate year at Carteret Prep School in West Orange where he played Varsity Basketball.

Dudley graduated from Rutgers University in 1954, where he was a Business Administration major and member of Chi Psi Fraternity. He continued to play basketball and also played semi-pro summer baseball for the Farmington Flyers (ME). His college career was interrupted by his service in the Air Force from which he received an honorable discharge to support his family when his father passed.

Dudley had an illustrious career on Wall Street having led four block trading desks over 42 years at leading firms, including Blyth & Co., Weeden & Company, Loeb Rhodes, and Donaldson, Lufkin, & Jenrette (DLJ). He retired as Managing Director of DLJ’s Institutional Equities Division in 1995. At his retirement party in Boston, he was presented with a certificate of recognition from Mayor Thomas M. Menino. According to his peers, he was known as a patient mentor and excellent practitioner of the art and science of block trading. His colleagues recognized him as Dudley “Warbucks” Eppel, with a cigar in one hand and a phone in the other, retiring as the “oldest living block trader on Wall Street.” He provided commentary on the financial markets for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Institutional Investor, CNBC, and other news outlets.

Dudley was a loving father and raised his family in Princeton, NJ, where they resided for 45 years. With a passion for the beach, Dudley and his family spent many summers on the Jersey shore and later in Martha’s Vineyard, beginning in 1972. He shared his love of the ocean with his children, teaching them to body surf and enjoy a competitive surfside game of backgammon, making for beautiful memories. He also loved the mountains of Colorado and spent family ski vacations in Vail and Aspen. He had a special affection for the horse-drawn sleigh to the Pine Creek Cookhouse in Ashcroft. Dudley shared his love of the Big Apple with his family, exposing them to Broadway musicals and sporting events. He was a loyal fan of many teams, including the (now San Francisco) Giants, the Knicks, the Rangers, and the New York Giants.

Dudley had a keen interest in befriending many and was a mentor to people of all ages and backgrounds. He was an avid golfer and over his lifetime was a member of the Bedens Brook Club (Skillman, NJ), Rolling Rock Club (Ligonier, PA), Edgartown Yacht Club, the Vineyard Golf Club (Edgartown, MA), and the John’s Island and Red Stick Golf clubs (Vero Beach, FL).

He is survived by his wife, Nancy, his children Cheryl and her husband John Segar of Watertown, MA, Lynne of West Tisbury, MA, Dudley, Jr. (Lee) of Vero Beach, FL, and Meredith and her husband Chris Jylkka of Weston, MA, and his four grandchildren: Anna Lee and Charles Allen Segar, and Lila Grace and Alexander Dudley Jylkka. His family, colleagues, and many friends deeply mourn his loss and celebrate his generous and loving spirit. He was predeceased by his mother Mildred Nauman Eppel, his father William Eppel, his sister Dianne Schryber, and his brother William Eppel. A celebration of Dudley’s life will take place on Martha’s Vineyard in July 2020. In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift in his memory to the Alzheimer’s Association
(www.alz.org/) or the West Tisbury Public Library Foundation (www.wtlibraryfoundation.org/).