Margaret Junker
Dr. Margaret Esther Miller Junker, 84, of Kennett Square, Pa., formerly of Princeton, died November 29 at home, of cancer.
Born in New York City, she earned degrees at Vassar College in 1943 and the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in 1947.
A physician, her career was in the field of college health, where she confronted many new medical and social issues in the 1960s and '70s. Sexuality, drugs, and the emergence of women's issues commanded much of her professional attention.
At Southampton College of Long Island University, which she joined at its inception in 1963, she served as College Physician and Director of Student Health Service until 1973. During this period she was involved in the region's first drug abuse councils and educational organizations, often serving as chair.
She joined Princeton University in 1973, and became best known for her pioneering role as the University's first female physician after it became a coeducational institution. At Princeton she was the guiding force of the SECH Program, the University's sexuality education and counseling program, and was an advocate for the newly admitted female population of students. She was also instrumental in establishing the first occupational health and safety program at the institution, as well as the first educational physical assessment program for nurses. She served as University Physician until her retirement in 1989.
Her professional dedication extended to community affairs. She served on the Princeton Borough Board of Health, the Princeton Regional Health Commission, and the Stony Brook Regional Sewerage Authority, which honored her in 1989 for her outstanding environmental work.
She is survived by a daughter, Ellen of Jericho, Vt., and two sons, Peter of Easton, Pa. and Valentine of Princeton.
A memorial service will be held at Crosslands in Kennett Square, at 2 p.m. on December 16.
Arrangements are by the Kuzo and Grieco Funeral Home, Kennett Square. Online condolences may be made by visiting www.griecofuneralhomes.com.
Nancy Dunbar Corbusier Knox, 92, of Santa Fe, N.Mex., died November 28 in Santa Fe. She was the daughter of Dr. Harold and Mrs. Louise Corbusier of Santa Fe and Plainfield, N.J., and the wife of the late Gordon Knox.
Born in Plainfield, she attended The Hartridge School in Plainfield and Smith College. In 1934, while studying archeology and Native American ethnology in Santa Fe, she met her future husband. Married in 1936 in Plainfield, they lived in Princeton for 40 years, where Mr. Knox was the founder and president of the Princeton Film Center, before returning to Santa Fe permanently in 1982.
Mrs. Knox was an historian, historical researcher, newspaper reporter, prolific author of non-fiction and fiction, and writer of documentary movie screenplays. In 1941 she and her husband made a film in New Mexico for the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs which was nominated for an Academy Award. She studied acting in New York and England and appeared in numerous amateur productions.
Her long association with the southwest stemmed from her grandfather, William Henry Corbusier, a Colonel and U.S. Army Medical Officer who was stationed in numerous posts in the region after the Civil War. Most recently she was the moving force behind the publishing of her paternal grandfather's and grandmother's memoirs by the University of Oklahoma Press.
She was involved in numerous Princeton area community activities, including the Princeton Historical Society, Watershed Association, Planned Parenthood, American Red Cross, Princeton Community Players, Princeton Open Space Commission, Princeton Historic Sites Commission, The Service League, Herrontown Woods Commission, and preservation of the Delaware and Raritan Canal. In Santa Fe she volunteered at the American School of Research.
She was predeceased by her sisters, Barbara Corbusier Stevenson Pflueger and Frances Corbusier O'Brien. She is survived by a daughter, Cynthia Knox Watts of Santa Fe; three sons, Harold of Santa Fe, Thomas of Tucson, Ariz., and Gordon of Shelburne, Vt.; nine grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Burial will be in Plainfield at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made either to the Salvation Army, 525 West Alameda, Santa Fe, N. Mex. 87501; or to The Nature Conservancy, 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, Va. 22203.
Joseph A. Esposito, 97, of Longmeadow, Mass., formerly of Princeton, died December 3 at Heritage Hall in Agawam, Mass.
Born in Beacon, N.Y. and raised in Brooklyn, he was a Princeton resident from 1932 to 1961, and lived in Lawrenceville from 1961 to 2000, when he moved with his wife to Glenmeadow, an assisted living community in Longmeadow.
He was co-proprietor, along with his brother Vincent Jim, of Esposito Brothers Service Station in Princeton.
Married at St. Paul's Church in Princeton in 1934, he recently celebrated his 72nd wedding anniversary with his wife Angeline. He had been an active member of the church and was instrumental in raising funds for the present edifice.
After moving to Lawrenceville in 1961, he became an active member of both the Church of St. Ann and the Lawrence Senior Citizens Club, which he served as treasurer.
He is survived by his wife, Angeline Ranieri Esposito; four sons, Robert of Jacksonville, Fla., Joseph of Baltimore, Thomas of Baltimore, and David of Rochester, N.Y.; four daughters, Patricia Sohn of Suffern, N.Y., Marilyn DiNicola of California, Catherine Dress of East Longmeadow, Mass., and Diane Jacobs of Wellesley, Mass.; 14 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 2 p.m. this Saturday, December 9 at St. Paul's Church, 214 Nassau Street. Interment will follow in St. Paul's Cemetery.
Friends are invited to call on Saturday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the Kimble Funeral Home, 1 Hamilton Avenue.
Gene Szymanski, 77, of Princeton, died December 1.
Born in Chester, Pa., he had been a longtime resident of Princeton.
He graduated from Pennsylvania Military College, now Widener University, with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering. He retired in 1998 after a long career in the engineering, robotics, and computer fields.
He served his country in the Army and the Navy, receiving honorable discharges from both.
He shared a great passion for the ocean and beach with his wife Elly, and enjoyed sunning, sailing, and boating. He was also an advocate of humane treatment for all animals, great and small. Dancing, astronomy, celestial navigation, celestial photography, and computers were an integral part of his life as well.
Predeceased by his parents, Stanley and Sally Szymanski, he is survived by his wife, Eleanore (Elly); a sister, Virginia Siedzikowski; and an aunt, Vivian Bobrownik.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. today, December 6 at St. Paul's Church, 214 Nassau Street. Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to SAVE Princeton Small Animal Rescue League, 900 Herrontown Road, Princeton.
Arrangements are by The Kimble Funeral Home.
Dorothy M. Wilson, 77, of Levittown, Pa., a longtime Princeton resident, died December 1 at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton.
Born in Princeton, she had lived in Princeton until moving to Levittown in May 2003.
She was a telephone operator for New Jersey Bell Telephone on Nassau Street for two years before joining Princeton University as an operator for 12 years, retiring in 1989.
She was a member and past matron of Ashlar Chapter No. 169 O.E.S. of Pennington. She was also a member of Senior Citizens of Princeton.
Daughter of the late John and Stella Marshall, wife of the late Robert F. Wilson, and stepsister of the late Jacob Melovitz, she is survived by three sons, Peter A. Leiggi of Walnut Creek, Calif., John M. Leiggi of Levittown, Pa., and David Leiggi of Hamilton; a stepsister, Sophie Desautelle of Penns Neck; six grandchildren; and a great grandson.
The funeral was December 5 at The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home. Burial was in Princeton Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 529, Princeton 08540; or to the Sunshine Foundation, 19 Lexington Avenue, Trenton 08618.