'hituaries

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Obituaries from page C33

Executive And Communicator

S

amuel (Sam) Petok, 86, retired
aerospace executive and distin-
guished communicator, died April
27, 2009, in Skillman, N.J. Mr. Petok, a
former Detroiter, and his wife, Fayne, of 57
years, had been residents of Skillman and
in the Princeton, N.J., area since 1992.
Mr. Petok retired in 1988 from Rockwell
International, best known as the prime
contractor of the NASA space shuttles, as
senior vice president and member of the
management committee. He had been the
company's principal public relations and
advertising officer for more than a decade.
In 1988 his alma mater, Wayne
State University, honored him with its
Distinguished Alumni Award for "his out-
standing achievements in the communica-
tions profession." He had been an active
alumnus and president of the University's
Alumni Association in 1965-1966.
Mr. Petok served two terms as chair-
man of the Public Affairs Council of the
Aerospace Industries Association and
twice was elected national chairman of the
Public Relations Committee of the Society

of Automotive Engineers Congress.
A former trustee of the Historical
Society of Princeton, he was a member
of the Old Guard of Princeton, Nassau
Club, Friends of the Institute for Advanced
Study, the Overseas Press Club of America,
the Arthur W. Page Society of senior public
relations executives, the Public
Relations Society of America
and Cherry Valley Country
Club, where he was a regular
participant in its weekly men's
duplicate bridge game.
Born in Detroit, Mr. Petok
began his career as a journalist
with the Detroit Free Press and
in 1948 won a Page One Award Petok
for the best job of reporting in c. 1970
Michigan, based on a series of
articles concerning the discovery of ura-
nium in the Upper Peninsula.
Mr. Petok was an account executive with
the advertising agency, McCann-Erickson,
before joining Chrysler Corporation in 1952,
where he succeeded to public relations
director of Chrysler-Plymouth Division, the

company's principal sales group.
While there in 1963, he took a local
Los Angeles Plymouth automobile deal-
ers' contest for aspiring high school auto
mechanics national. Today that program
continues sponsored by the Ford Motor
Company and the AAA as the Students
Auto Skills contest, which
annually attracted 60,000
entrants in 50 states. In 1964,
the Public Relations Society of
America recognized the pro-
gram with its National Silver
Anvil Award.
In his memoirs, Mr. Petok
wrote, "I was humbled by the
huge impact the program has
had over the past 40 plus years
upon the countless thousands
of young men in high school who went on
to rewarding careers as auto mechanics
because of this national contest. This was
my most satisfying PR accomplishment."
He left Chrysler after 19 years for a
position at White Motor Corporation in
1971 as vice president, public relations

and advertising, and five years later
joined Rockwell.
Fortune Magazine presented Mr. Petok
with an award in 1985 for creating a
Rockwell advertising campaign judged
by Fortune to have exceeded the average
of all ads appearing in its magazine 1985:
"specific ads scored nearly twice as high."
That year, Financial World Magazine
named Rockwell's annual financial report
"best in category"; one of only 12 reports
among 1,200 entries.
Mr. Petok was predeceased by his par-
ents, Harry and Jennie Petok and his sis-
ters Lillian Israel and Goldie Rothenberg.
In addition to his wife, he is survived
by three children, Carol Barkin of Morris
Township, N.J.; Seth D. Petok of Riverside,
Conn.; and Michael A. Petok of Sherman
Oaks, Calif.; seven grandchildren; brother,
Ted; many cherished nieces and nephews.
Arrangements are under the direction
of the Kimble Funeral Home, 1 Hamilton
Avenue, Princeton, N.J. Condolences may
be offered online by visiting the Web site
www.thekimblefuneralhome.com .

worthy

A life well lived

A tradition well served

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