Dick Pew, Olympic Epee Trailblazer Who Set a Standard for Team USA, Dies at 92
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by Bryan Wendell
Dick Pew, left, and Pavesi (Italy), during their epee bout at the 1956 Olympic Games. Pavesi won the gold medal and Pew was fourth.
Cornell novice-turned-star tied for fourth at the 1956 Games — setting a lasting standard for Team USA men's epee.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Richard “Dick” Worden Pew, the Cornell fencer whose rapid rise from campus newcomer to Olympic finals made him a legend in American epee, died Oct. 2, 2025. He was 92.
Pew arrived at Cornell with no fencing background and found the sport almost by chance.
“Some good friends of mine at Cornell were fencers,” he told The Michigan Daily in 1964. “I decided to give the sport a six months trial.”
After that start, he said, he never considered quitting.
Under coach Georges Cointe, Pew won back‑to‑back Eastern Intercollegiate epee titles in 1954 and 1955, served as co‑captain and helped the Big Red capture the Intercollegiate Fencing Association’s three‑weapon crown. He finished runner‑up at the 1955 NCAA Championships and, in 1980, entered the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame.
His signature result came at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where he advanced to the eight‑fencer final round and tied for fourth — then the best U.S. showing in men’s individual epee of the modern era. That standard has stood since 1956 (though it was equaled by Seth Kelsey OLY’s fourth place in 2012).
Years later, Pew’s Cornell chapter included a lighter moment worthy of a wedding‑announcement flourish. When he married Elizabeth Ann Westin on Aug. 8, 1959, The New York Times noted, “The bride wore a gown of ivory silk trimmed with Brussels lace.” It was the start of a 66‑year marriage that friends say reflected the same steadiness he showed on the piste.
Beyond his Olympic run, Pew’s story became part of collegiate fencing lore: a first‑time fencer who learned quickly, led confidently and fenced with patience and precision — qualities that still resonate with today’s epee fencers. Cornell records and his Hall of Fame bio have long pointed young fencers to the Melbourne result and to the 1955 team’s IFA title as proof that big dreams can start on a college strip.
Pew is survived by his wife, Elizabeth “Sue” Westin Pew; daughter Elizabeth “Betsy” (Richard Karban); sons Douglas (Deirdre) and Gordon (Kerry); and a large, loving family.
