Joseph Leo Bolster, Jr.

Joseph Leo Bolster, Jr., a beloved father of 14 who built a distinguished career at Princeton University and lived a life dedicated to public service, died on July 21, 2020, at the home of his youngest daughter, Peggy, in Westport, NY. He spent his final weeks surrounded by his 14 children and passed peacefully. Among Joe’s many gifts were an unflagging buoyancy of spirit, a quick, often hilarious wit, and a powerful devotion to community service born of the gratitude he felt for the opportunities afforded him in his lifetime. Joe was an inspiration to his family and to many who knew him, and whenever he entered a room, the good cheer within underwent a noticeable uptick.

The eldest son of Joseph Leo Bolster, Sr. and Jane Carroll Bolster, Joe Bolster was born in Albany, New York, on November 6, 1928, and grew up in Williamstown and Pittsfield, MA. At Pittsfield High School, he was a member of the Student Council, Vice President of the Senior Class, captain of the track team, and Western Massachusetts half-mile champion in 1945 and ’46.

After graduating from Pittsfield High, Joe spent a year in the Army of Occupation in Japan, and then attended The Hill School in Pottstown, PA, from January to June 1948. In September of ‘48, with the help of the GI Bill, he entered Princeton University as part of the Class of 1952. Joe majored in history and became an active member of the school community, joining the Senior Class Council, becoming President of The Princeton Charter Club, and Secretary-Treasurer of the Inter-Club Committee. He ran cross country and track at Princeton, captaining both the freshman and varsity track teams during his four-year career. Joe was a member of the Princeton-Cornell track team that raced against Oxford-Cambridge in 1950. He ran the mile in that meet in a four-man field that included Roger Bannister. On the voyage to England aboardthe MV Georgic, he met his future wife, Sarah “Tink” Murdock. In 1951, Joe was part of the Princeton team that finished second in the 4 x 880 relay at the IC4A Indoor Track and Field Championships, edging out a Fordham team that included future Olympic gold medalist Tom Courtney. The following season, Joe’s Tiger team finished first in the 4 x 880 relay at the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden.

After graduation, Joe
embarked on a 39-year career at Princeton University. He started in the Bureau of Student Aid and subsequently held positions in the Admissions Office and as Secretary of the Alumni Schools Committees. In 1965, he joined Princeton’s Annual Giving Office, where he spent the next 26 years, 24 of them as Director. During his tenure, the Annual Giving Office raised more than $200 million in fully unrestricted funds for the university. Joe was also a member of the Board of Advisors, the Committee on Minority Affairs, and a coach of the freshman cross country and track teams.

As an offshoot to his Annual Giving work, Joe was a member of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), serving as Middle Atlantic District Chair. In 1989, he was named CASE’s Professional of the Year.

Joe spent his adult life giving back to and volunteering in his communities, never forgetting the windows of opportunity that were opened for him as a schoolboy of modest means from Western Massachusetts. In Princeton, he served as Commissioner of the YMCA Little League Baseball organization, President of the Youth Employment Service (YES), President of the Johnson Park Elementary School PTO, and President of the Friends of Princeton Track. He was one of the founders of Princeton’s Dorothea’s House Scholarship program, which he chaired for more than 25 years. Joe was also a board member at the Princeton YMCA, the Princeton Regional Scholarship Program, the Aquinas Institute, St. Paul’s Church, and the Princeton Blairstown Center (PBC), which provides adventure-based, experiential education to vulnerable youth. Joe helped complete several significant capital initiatives for PBC.

For the Princeton University Class of 1952, Joe joined the Executive Committee after graduation, and also served as president and reunion chairman, among other posts. There is a Joseph L. Bolster, Jr. ’52 scholarship at Princeton.

Elsewhere, Joe served for 15 years as a trustee of the Hill School, and 10 years on the Board of Managers at Camp Dudley, in Westport, NY,

Joe was a member of the Nassau Club, the Princeton Club of New York, the Old Guard of Princeton, and the Nassau Swim Club (where he and Tink became lifetime members after helping the club raise funds for a major renovation in 2005). He was an avid biker in later life, as well as a regular jogger who completed several marathons.

Predeceased by his cherished wife, Tink, Joe is survived by his six daughters (Carrie, Jane, Mary, Martha, Libby, and Peggy), eight sons (Joe, Jim, Andy, Michael, Tom, Charley, John, and Richard), and 20 grandchildren (Martha, Frances, Kate, Bolster, Willa, John, Dana, Henry, Michael Mac, Callye, Jake, Eva, Luke, Jack Henry, Ethan, Clay, Jack Dashiell, Kayla, Magdalena, and Leo), who loved their “Bee-Bo” dearly.

A memorial service will be held on a future date in the Princeton University Chapel. A family burial will be held in the Princeton Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Dorothea’s House (dorotheashouse.org), Princeton Blairstown Center (princetonblairstown.org), Princeton University, Class of 1952 Annual Giving (makeagift.princeton.edu), Centurion Ministries (centurion.org), or the Boys and Girls Club of Pittsfield, MA (bgcberkshires.org).

Hoo-ha! Sis Boom Bah! We’ll always miss you, Joe.

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Lynn Rabinowitz

Lynn Rabinowitz passed away on Wednesday, July 22, 2020 at age 75 with her family by her side.

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Harry Lewis Lennard (Lenny) and Ruth Lennard, she lived all across the United States as a child and young woman. Lynn resided in Yardley for the past 54 years.

Her first career was working as a receptionist and bookkeeper with her first husband Barry Rabinowitz, at his pediatric dental practice in Trenton. She was also a successful real estate agent earlier in life and for the past 21 years has been a partner, with her daughter Rachel, at the fashion boutique Hedy Shepard LTD in Princeton.

As a younger woman, Lynn was interested in the arts, loved the ballet and could be found there whenever it was in town. Lynn enjoyed tennis, swimming, her daily morning walks, and was a gardening enthusiast.  She and her husband enjoyed travel and visiting new places. Lynn was a fabulous cook and loved to feed  friends and family. Family was more important to Lynn than anything else.

Lynn is survived by her loving husband, Robert Beckelman; her children, David Rabinowitz (Kathy) and Rachel Reiss (Adam); and her grandchildren Natasha, Jordyn, Jacob, and Addison. She is also survived by her blended family, John Beckelman (Marsha), Barbara Beckelman (Susan), Linda Beckelman (Mark, deceased), and their children and grandchildren.

Private memorial services were held on July 27 at Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel. To leave condolences for the family, visit Lynn’s obituary page at orlandsmemorialchapel.com

The family respectfully requests memorial contributions be made to Capital Health Cancer Center directed to Capital Health Development Office at Two Capital Way, Suite 361, Pennington, NJ 08534.

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Joseph Michael Azzara

Joseph Michael Azzara, age 64, of Princeton, NJ, entered into eternal rest Sunday morning, July 19, 2020.

Beloved husband of Barbara Hinkle-Azzara, devoted father of Michael Joseph of Charlotte, NC, and John Thomas of Asbury Park, NJ, and dear brother to Anthony (Sherry) of Jupiter, FL, Patrick of Manhattan, NY, and Carol Ann (Bob) Eberhardt of Palm Bay, FL. Joe was cherished by his loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and many extended family and friends.  

Born April 5, 1956, Joe was raised in Corona and Port Jefferson, New York, son of the late Anthony J. Azzara and Olga Azzara (nee DiNello).  He later moved to Canton, OH, where he began his working life at Republic Steel as an engineer. This was just the first step of an extensive dedicated career that later led him back to New York and the nascent field of Management Information Systems. Joe spent over 20 fruitful years at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital (later Continuum Health Partners and Capgemini) in NYC, and subsequently landed at Accenture where he continued his commitment to hard work and the advancement and encouragement of successful teams and projects. Throughout these years, many of Joe’s colleagues were impacted by his compassionate and supportive leadership style.  

Joe placed his highest priority on raising his two sons – always finding time for soccer tournaments near and far, assisting with schoolwork, and organizing ski trips. His other passions included golfing, taking care of his home – which was never visited by a plumber or an electrician – exploring small towns with his wife, particularly in Italy and France, and enjoying wine and good conversation with family and friends. Joe had an uncanny ability to spot a wine ‘winner’ in advance and took pride in his prescient picks.

Above all, Joe was defined by his strength of character – which was truly evidenced by his unwavering battle with cancer. Joe will be remembered as someone who was easy to talk with, who loved his family, and who held fast to his convictions.

Arrangements are being handled by the MJ Murphy Funeral Home in Monmouth Junction, NJ. Due to the COVID public health emergency, the family did not hold a visitation. The Mass of Christian Burial was held on Saturday, July 25th at St. Augustine of Canterbury, 45 Henderson Road, Kendall Park, NJ 08824. Following the funeral mass, entombment services were privately held for family at Holy Cross Burial Park and Mausoleum in Jamesburg, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Blavatnik Family Chelsea Medical Center at Mount Sinai Giving @  In Memory of Joseph Azzara.

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Anne Dorothy (Hevner) Sullivan

Anne Dorothy (Hevner) Sullivan, 91, an acclaimed artist, departed this world peacefully on Thursday, July 23, 2020 at Meadow Lakes Retirement Community in E. Windsor, New Jersey.  She was married for 61 years to the late James Leo Sullivan, former Lowell and Cambridge city manager and president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, who passed away in 2012.

Born March 17, 1929 to Anna (Zemeitus) Hevner and Thomas Benjamin Hevner, Anne grew up in South Boston, Massachusetts with her parents and siblings Dolores (Dorie), Jeanne, and Thomas (Tom) Benjamin Jr.

Since childhood, Anne wanted to study art, however, economic times postponed her dream for some years. In 1948, Anne stayed at Holmes’ Farm in Boscawen, New Hampshire, where she met her husband James. The couple married and began their family – the focus of their lives.

While raising her children, Anne began taking painting and drawing classes, entering local art competitions, and winning regional art awards.  She sold her first prize-winning oil painting, to Red Sox great Carl Yastrzemski and wife Carol in 1968.

Anne began her formal art instruction at Northeastern University in 1969. After completing her associate’s degree, she continued her art study with many classes in new techniques, particularly print making at the De Cordova Museum in Lincoln, MA. In 1975, Anne began working on her B.A. in Art at University of Massachusetts Lowell as one of very few adult day students and graduated in 1977.

Anne was a longtime member of Depot Square Art Gallery in Lexington, Massachusetts, Emerson Umbrella in Concord, Massachusetts, and a founding member of the Brush Art Gallery in Lowell. She was a signature member of the International Society of Experimental Artists, National Association of Women Artists, National League of American Pen Women, New England Watercolor Society, Copley Society of Boston – Copley Artist, and the Monotype Guild of New England.

Anne was an art instructor for the summer Aid to Individual Development program at University of Massachusetts at Lowell, where she worked with incoming freshmen who were first generation college students. In later years, she worked in Boston as an art consultant assisting banks and businesses in art acquisition for office spaces. She continued to teach at many venues, including the Whistler House Museum in Lowell, MA, where its Parker Gallery hosted her 2009 retrospective show when she turned 80.

Anne was a lifelong learner; always open to new ideas and developing many of her own during her 40 years in the art field, including print making, collagraphs, paper making, collage, and mixed media. She drew art inspiration from nature, and was known for her evocative watercolors as well as creative use of color and texture in experimental works. As her eclectic style became known both nationally and internationally, Anne was recognized by the National Association of Women Artists and the International Society of Experimental Artists, as well as named in “Who’s Who in American Art,” “Who’s Who in the East,” “Who’s Who in America,” and “Who’s Who in the World.”

Anne is survived by her four children and their spouses: Dr. Maura Ammendolia and her husband Anthony of Conway, New Hampshire; Mark Sullivan and his wife Elizabeth of Falmouth, Maine; Lianne Sullivan-Crowley and her wife Julie of Princeton, New Jersey; and Christopher Sullivan and his wife Kristin of Concord, New Hampshire. In addition, Anne leaves seven grandchildren: Cara (Ammendolia) Faria and her husband Adam of Westford, Massachusetts; Erin Sullivan of Cambridge, Massachusetts; James Sullivan of Cleveland, Ohio; Anne and Elizabeth Sullivan-Crowley of Princeton, New Jersey; and Jake and Quinn Sullivan of Concord, New Hampshire, as well as two great-grandsons, Wyatt and Leo Faria of Westford, Massachusetts.

Anne is also survived by her sister Dorie Docherty and her husband Edgar Eugene (Doc); her brother Thomas B. Hevner Jr. and his wife Anne; as well as several nieces and nephews, their spouses, and children. In addition to her parents, her sister Jeanne Weathers and Jeanne’s husband John Weathers predeceased her.

A private service will be held in the chapel at New Hampshire Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen (the town where they met) on Friday, August 7, at 11 a.m. where Anne will be laid to rest with her husband James.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the New England Watercolor Society, PO Box 170140, Boston, MA 02117.  E-condolences may be sent to the Kimble Funeral Home website at www.thekimblefuneralhome.com.