Dana Reeve, 44, of White Plains, N.Y., died March 6 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center in New York. The cause was lung cancer.
The widow of the actor Christopher Reeve, she won worldwide admiration for her devotion to her husband through his decade of near-total paralysis.
She was the daughter-in-law of Barbara Johnson of Princeton.
A singer-actress who gave up some of her own career to be one of the nation's best-known caregivers, she had succeeded her husband as chair of the Christopher Reeve Foundation, which funded research into spinal-cord paralysis cures.
Diagnosed with lung cancer last year, she told friends in October that "My prognosis looks better all the time." Asked how she kept her spirits up, she answered that she "had a great model."
Funeral plans were not known at press time. The family told Fox News that memorial donations could be made to the Christopher Reeve Foundation in Short Hills.
Amy Bell Gatchell, 80, of Princeton, died February 28 at Buckingham Place Assisted Living Community.
Born in Chestnut Hill, Pa., she was the daughter of Henry Bell Jr. of Philadelphia and Margaret Florence Fleming of Rocky Hill. She attended Germantown High School.
She spent many summers at the New Jersey shore with her family in Mantoloking.
She worked at the Montgomery County Day School in Wynnewood, Pa., where she met her first husband, Chalmers Dale. After their marriage, she lived in Queens, N.Y. before moving to Princeton in 1954. She worked as a secretary at the Lawrenceville School during the 1960s, and later as a personal assistant to Dr. Helen Daniels of Lawrenceville.
She was an early member of the Unitarian Church of Princeton. She also belonged to the Garden Club of Lawrenceville, the New Jersey Democratic Party, and the Princeton Senior Center. A supporter of the Metropolitan Opera, she also maintained a deep fondness for nature and animals.
Predeceased by her second husband, Robert Tyler Gatchell, she is survived by two sons, Anthony Chalmers Dale of Baltimore and Henry Bell Dale of Princeton; a daughter, Lucretia Baltzell Gatchell of Jackson, N.H.; and four grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 50 Cherry Hill Road on Saturday, March 25 at 10:30 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the S.A.V.E. Animal Shelter, 900 Herrontown Road, Princeton 08540.
Dr. Gregory E. Scott, 57, of Princeton, died March 4 at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick.
Born in New York, he lived in Highland Park before moving to Princeton in 1988.
He was a prominent cardiothoracic surgeon and an attending physician at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick.
He received his medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and did his internship and residencies at Massachusetts General Hospital and Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. He served as chief resident in thoracic and cardiac surgery at Columbia.
During his career he held clinical faculty appointments at Harvard Medical School, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He did major research on biochemistry and pathogenesis of artherosclerosis, heart transplantation, and immunosuppressive agents.
He was a member of the National Board of Medical Examiners, American Board of Surgery, and American Board of Thoracic Surgeons; and a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Cardiology, American College of Angiology, American College of Surgeons, and International College of Angiology.
An avid musician and percussionist, he also loved sports. In recent years he was an active member of the Montgomery Baseball League.
He is survived by his mother, Gladys Scott-Battle of Nyack, N.Y.; his wife, Joan Gleason Scott; three daughters, Ashley Cooke Scott of Hamilton, Blair Cooke Scott of Somerset, and Gillian Grace Scott of Princeton; a son, Jonathan of Princeton; and two brothers, James Battle III of Long Island and Jameel Battle of Nyack.
The funeral service will be today, March 8 at 10 a.m. at the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens, 771 Somerset Street, Somerset. Interment will be in Franklin Memorial Park, North Brunswick.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Princeton Day School Scholarship Fund, c/o Development Office, P.O. Box 75, Princeton 08540.
Arrangements are under the direction of Anderson Funeral Service, New Brunswick.
Irving E. Sigel, 84, of Skillman, died February 26 at the University Medical Center at Princeton, of complications from heart disease.
He was an internationally known expert on children's cognitive development. Based on his theory of "psychological distancing," his research focused on the capacity of young children for representative or symbolic thought, as well as on the conditions under which that thought develops.
He was also a distinguished research scientist at Educational Testing Service from 1973 until his retirement in 1990. At ETS, he established a preschool for developing curricula and training teachers on the basis of distancing theory. In recent years, he focused on the implications of his theory for parent-child relationships, and was a frequent consultant to teaching centers and school districts.
Dr. Sigel was a leader in demonstrating how theory and research on child development is relevant to the concerns of practicing educators and parents. "Irv Sigel was a pioneer," said Frances Degen Horowitz, president emerita of the Graduate Center at the City University of New York. "He saw earlier than most the importance of doing well-conceived applied research that would put to the test our knowledge of child development for helping children and parents. As the founding editor of the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, he moved our whole field to be serious about applied developmental research."
He was the author of more than 100 scientific articles, chapters, and books; the editor of a series of books on child psychology; and co-editor, with K. Ann Renninger of Swarthmore College, of Child Psychology in Practice, part of the forthcoming 6th edition of The Handbook of Child Psychology.
He was on the faculties of Smith College, Michigan State University, and the State University of New York at Buffalo; and director of research at the Merrill-Palmer Institute.
For his work on child development, Dr. Sigel received many honors and awards, both nationally and internationally, including an honorary degree from his alma mater, Clark University, in Massachusetts. He served as president of the Division of Developmental Psychology of the American Psychological Association and as president of the Jean Piaget Society, from which he received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. His doctorate was from the University of Chicago.
He is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Roberta Schoenland Sigel; two sons, Kenneth of Mystic, Conn., and Newton of Malibu, Calif.; and four grandchildren.
A private funeral was held on March 1. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the Rock Brook School, 109 Orchard Road, Skillman 08558; or to The Children's Defense Fund, 25 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001.