Thomas Vincent Leverich
(1949–2025)
With deep sadness, we announce the passing of Thomas Vincent Leverich of West Windsor, NJ, who died peacefully on June 4, 2025, at the age of 75.
Tom was born on August 12, 1949, in Rockville Centre, NY, to William B. Leverich and Marie R. Laliberte. He was a devoted husband to Michele, his beloved wife of 47 years, and a proud father to Jessica, Adam, and Emily.
Tom attended St. Pius X and graduated from Cathedral College in 1971. He built a meaningful and impactful career as a Senior Specialist for the Child and Adult Care Food Program with the Mid -Atlantic regional office of Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.
A lifelong lover of folk music, Tom shared his passion with the Friends of Worship and was often found with a guitar in hand, strumming along to the songs of Peter, Paul, and Mary and many others. He was an avid fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers and cherished memories of watching his favorite team play at Ebbets Field. Tom’s love of the game inspired him to play baseball throughout high school and college.
Tom’s lifelong passion was genealogy. He dedicated himself to researching and compiling the extensive history of the descendants of Rev. William Leverich (c.1606–1677) of England, New England, and Long Island, NY. His work connected Leverich family descendants across the globe and culminated in the co-authorship with Michael E. Leveridge and publication of A Godly Minister: The Reverend William Leverich of Great Britain, New England, and New York. His research can be found at leverichgenealogy.org.
Tom is survived by his wife, Michele Bouchard; his children, Jessica Leverich Rando (Carmine Rando), Adam Leverich (Rebecca Scott), and Emily Leverich (Carlos Villanueva); and four step-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Mary Jo Leverich Lenihan (Edward Lenihan); sister-in-law, Mary Leverich (wife of the late William F. Leverich); and many loving nieces and nephews.
Tom’s legacy is one of integrity, kindness, resilience, and love.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 14, 2025, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Barlow & Zimmer Funeral Home, 202 Stockton Street, Hightstown, NJ 08520. Barlowzimmer.com.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made in Tom’s memory to a charity meaningful to you.
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Loretta Joy DeRochi
September 12, 1937 – June 5, 2025
Despite being diagnosed with on-set dementia over eight years ago, Laurie continued to live a full life until the very end, dying peacefully with her family around her.
Born and raised in Princeton, she lived over 87 years, and what an 87 years they were. Laurie was no ordinary woman. She was the most strong-willed, adventurous woman you will ever meet. And up for anything her friends could conjure.
In her early twenties, because of her infectious laugh and boundless enthusiasm, she counted many Princeton graduate students as friends (and several as would-be-suitors). They sang folk songs together in the basement of the Peacock Inn, skied together (she was a founding member of the Princeton Ski Club), and folk-danced together. Through this dancing, she met a group of Jewish students, who liked her and invited her to work on their farm commune on weekends. This led to an invitation to come to the Israeli Consulate in NYC, where they tried to recruit her to move to a kibbutz in Israel. She accepted their invitation to the kibbutz, but always her own person, bought her own passage on a freighter to cross the Atlantic. And as always, she was the life of the party on the freighter (so smitten was the First Mate that he proposed marriage to her).
But she continued on to the kibbutz in Israel, where she fit in well. Being the social person she was, Laurie also used every opportunity to see the sights and meet new people. Once, on a lark, she rode a horse to the Jordanian border and exchanged pleasantries with a border guard. But that proved to be her undoing. Soon after that she got a visit from the Israeli secret police, who had been keeping an eye on her. They expelled her from the kibbutz for her suspicious behavior. Apparently, in addition to her horseback riding, the nice Arab boy she was dating was the nephew of the only Arab member of the Israeli Knesset!
Undaunted, that set her off on a two-year hitch-hiking / working tour of Europe, and being Laurie, there were many other adventures. Always intrepid, one of the wildest was her run-in with the East German police, when, again on a lark, she poked her nose into East Berlin, just to see what was there. She had to pound her fist on some bureaucrat’s desk to get her passport back.
But finally, her funds exhausted, she returned home to Princeton, only to start saving money for her freighter passage back. Her plans changed however when she met Steve, another PU grad student (she accepted her first date with him for New Year’s Eve, on the condition that they went to her list of parties). Six months later, they were married, and Laurie lost her wanderlust and devoted herself to making their home.
She kept their three children on a very short leash, but she had their back at every turn. For instance, when her young son was being bullied by an older boy on his school bus, Laurie, true to form, did not complain to the school or call his parents. One day, she followed the bus to the bully’s stop and confronted him on the bus (she got a thumbs up from the driver as she left). Problem solved. You did not mess with Laurie’s kids.
Laurie was also a feminist before there were feminists, always sticking up for her female friends, not with placards, but in her daily life. Once, when an Air Force sergeant refused to let his immigrant wife drive his prized Pontiac GTO, Laurie taught her how to drive and helped her get a driver’s license. Another time, when an overbearing officer offered his wife a quarter to leave an Air Force outing, Laurie offered her a dollar to stay. And she told a bride-to-be in Switzerland that her intended was cheating on her, just days before the wedding.
And she didn’t suffer fools gladly, especially men. Once, on a guided tour of the Alabama governor’s mansion, Governor Wallace bragged that he himself fed the fish in a large aquarium. Laurie piped up, asking, “The black ones too?”
Ethnicity and racism were completely foreign concepts to Laurie. Instead, she had an open heart and a willingness to help anyone with a problem, as well as volunteering her time for many organizations over the years. She was valued for her excellent organizing skills, especially in raising 10s of thousands of dollars for the Princeton Hospital. As result of all this, as well as just being Laurie, her life was filled with many steadfast friends, friends that could count on her to help them any time.
But now after her 60 years of marriage and that full 87 years of life, her light is extinguished, leaving a void in our hearts that will never be completely filled.
Laurie was the daughter of Ernest and Josephine D’Andrea, and had a brother, Ernest (Chubby) D’Andrea, all now deceased. She is survived by her husband Steven; her three children, Andrea, Jonathan, and Elisa; and five grandchildren, Aidan, Lucia and Dominica Moix, as well as Charles and Jack Welles.
There will be a graveside Commitment Service for her at St. Paul Parish Cemetery, Princeton, NJ, at 11 a.m. on Monday, June 16, 2025. Family and friends are invited immediately afterward to join in a Celebration of her life at her home. Her residence was at 704 Georgetown Franklin Turnpike (Route 518), Skillman, NJ 08558.
Extend condolences and share memories at thekimblefuneralhome.com.
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Ann Marie Collson Johnson
August 6, 1940 – January 26, 2025
“A disposition is more valuable than gold.”
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Ann Marie Collson Johnson on January 26, 2025.
Ann leaves behind her beloved Husband, Thomas Johnson during their 63rd year of marriage.
Ann leaves behind her three children, Tamber (Stephen) Tosca (Scott), Terence (Sandra), and grandchildren Julia (Yordi), Sadie, Anna, Campbell, Calvin and her recent delight great-granddaughter Eva.
In addition to being MOM to the 3 Ts she was also “mom” to many others during her life. She was a a terrific sounding board offering unvarnished opinion, constructive criticism, and motivation to embrace independence to anyone who chose to step through her open door and into her heart.
Our Family grew through mom’s generous spirit — she leaves behind Shirley Jason, and Heather Resslar Yu along with her many circles of friends, her nursing class of 1962, her “up on the hill” friends, her library and book club friends. Ann was super tight with her paternal Collson cousins with whom she maintained lifelong bonds and a love of card playing.
Ann was a staunch humanitarian and was steadfast and expansive in her support of people from all walks of life. Ann was energetic and she loved to swim, dance and cook. Throwing together a meal for 5-25 was never a problem and all were welcome to her table.
Ann Marie Collson Johnson was born in Berkshire, New York, on August 6, 1940 to Eleanor Blanche Chaffee Collson and John Hilton Collson.
Ann was willfully independent and adored her early farm life with her grandparents. Although Ann was an “only child,” she was never alone. Outgoing from day one, she led an adventurous life in upstate New York surrounded by her Collson cousins. Ann embraced the energy of joining and belonging throughout her life.
By the fourth grade her father’s career carried the family to Lakewood, NJ, where Ann completed her high school education. She continued into a five-year nursing program at Hartwick College, graduating in 1962. At this point Ann and Tom had become much more than the fast friends they were upon meeting in the fourth grade. Ann married Tom, her high school sweetheart, in 1962 and traveled west so Tom could attend Art Center College of Design, eventually relocating to Motor City where Tom worked for Ford and Ann focused on raising their young and growing family.
By 1968 Ann and Tom had returned to New Jersey, settling in Hopewell. Ann’s favorite and final home. The kids working their way out of the nest, Ann returned to nursing and eventually started her own medically related business. Both as assistant director of Nursing at New Jersey Neuropsychiatric and at the helm of her company, Insurance Assistance, she continued fearlessly to untangle intractable issues while always keeping her focus on the prize — helping others.
Her disposition did indeed prove more valuable than gold as the riches of her friendships attest.
An educated medical professional Ann faced her prognosis with strength and dignity, mothering us even the morning she left us on January 26, 2025. It is that strength and her steady love that will guide us through our days without her.
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Dorothy C. Fullam
Dorothy C. Fullam of Princeton, NJ, and West Brookfield, MA, passed away on June 6 at the age of 92. She was a model of kindness to all she met and was devoted to family and the organizations she supported to persevere the best of the past, make land available for public enjoyment and promoting first generation women attending colleges.
She was born on May 9, 1933 to Dorothy Dane and Harold C. Cochran in West Brookfield, Massachusetts, where her family lived for generations. She attended Warren High School in Warren MA; Pine Manor Junior College in Brookline, MA; and the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. She worked at Guaranty Bank of Worcester after college.
In 1968 Dorothy (known as Dotty to everyone) married Walter F. Fullam, whose family also came from West Brookfield. They made their home in Princeton but continued to spend summers in West Brookfield. After his death in 2000, she continued to return to her family home each summer in Massachusetts.
She embraced all things Princeton including: the Historical Society of Princeton, McCarter Theatre, D&R Greenway, Nassau Presbyterian Church, the Nassau Club, Morven, Drumthwacket, and the Woman’s College Club, an organization dedicated to financially supporting young women in college. Through her work with the family, the Cedar Ridge Preserve was established in Hopewell, NJ.
Dotty also kept and grew all her connections to West Brookfield. She was a lifetime member of the First Congregational Church and a member of Old Sturbridge Village for over 70 years, where four generations of her family have worked. She was a member of the Village Council of Ambassadors. This is a job she took seriously and with enthusiasm. She always engaged anyone she met in a discussion about the Village and an invitation to visit. She was also a founding member of the Jedediah Foster Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, in West Brookfield. Her support for Lady Doak College, in Maduri, India, stemmed from her connection to Reverend Joseph Gaylord, whose daughter Helen co-founded the college for women in 1948.
Dotty attended decades of Adams Family Reunion Picnics at the Rock House in West Brookfield. As a long-term member of the Trustees of the Reservation, she and Walter established the Rock House Preserve. In addition, she continued to support the East Quabbin Land Trust, which recently established the Little Marshy Meadow pocket park in West Brookfield.
Preceded in death by her husband and stepson, Caleb, she is survived by her stepson W. Ross Fullam and his wife Wendy and stepson Francis A. Fullam and his wife Patricia, as well as five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her cousin, Ralph Cochran, and his family.
She left a legacy of kindness to all. She demonstrated this every day and was loved by many for her generous and thoughtful good nature. She kept track and acknowledged the birthdays of hundreds of people. And every kindness to her was acknowledged with a swift and heartfelt thank you note. Family was paramount to her and she remained the center of activities and gatherings. She was a blessing to all who knew her and will be sorely missed.
Funeral arrangements will be under the direction of Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton. There will be a graveside service at Princeton Cemetery on Saturday, June 14, 2025 at 11 a.m. Later this summer there will be a memorial service for her at the First Congregational Church of West Brookfield.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: The Women’s College Club of Princeton, PO Box 3181, Princeton, NJ 08540. The East Quabbin Land Trust (P.O. Box 5, Hardwick, MA 01037), designated to the Little Marshy Meadow.
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James Ernest Van Patten
James Ernest Van Patten, 85, of Princeton, NJ, passed away on Sunday, June 1, 2025.
James was a devoted husband to Gillian Sterling, who passed away in 2020, and a loving father, stepfather, grandfather, and mentor to many. Though he was a celebrated painter and influential art educator — known for his hyperrealist work represented by Ivan Karp at OK Harris Gallery in New York and Plus One Gallery in London — those who knew James best will remember him for something far more enduring: the way he showed up for others.
With over 42 years of sobriety, James transformed his life from the inside out. Through his decades in recovery, he became a quiet giant in the AA community — not by preaching or advising, but by listening deeply, sharing openly, and walking beside countless others through their darkest hours. In Princeton, some jokingly called him the “unofficial mayor” because of the sheer number of lives he touched through love, honesty, and presence.
His greatest masterpiece wasn’t painted — it was the way he learned to love, fully and without reservation. He wasn’t just a brilliant artist, he was a deeply human, heart-centered man who touched others well beyond canvas and classroom.
James is survived by his sons David and Michael, David’s wife Laurette and their children, Jacquie and Tate; Michael’s wife Christina and their children Ismael and Elisa; and his stepson Daniel Williams and Daniel’s wife Michelle Steffens and their nephew William Beavin. jamesvanpatten.com.
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Edward Charles Kopp III
Edward “Ted” Charles Kopp III, 91, passed away on Thursday, June 5, 2025. He was born in Princeton, NJ, graduated from the Hun School, and attended the University of Richmond, VA. He was a United States Air Force Veteran who served during the Korean War. He was the past Chief of Princeton Fire Department who served for over 50 years with Mercer Engine No. 3. He was an avid golfer and member of the Springdale Golf Club for over 40 years. Ted was a historical novel buff, and loved nature, gardening, and birds.
Predeceased by his parents Edward Charles Kopp Jr. and Miriam Hepler Kopp; he is survived by his children and spouses Stephen and Susan Kopp of Charleston, SC, Cynthia and Jim Meeker of Montgomery, NJ, and Julia and Anthony Santoro of Princeton, NJ; six grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.
Memorial visitation will be held on Thursday, June 12, 2025 from 6-8 p.m. at The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08542. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Princeton Fire Police, 13 Chestnut Street, Princeton NJ 08542.
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Ellen Regan Kerney
Ellen Regan Kerney, 89, died at home, in Lawrenceville, May 30, 2005. She was born in Trenton, NJ, June 12, 1935. Her parents were Elsie R. Kerney and James Kerney, Jr. She grew up in Trenton and Princeton. She attended Miss Fine’s School in Princeton. Convent of the Holy Child in Suffern, NY, and Bennett College in Millbrook, NY, and the Sorbonne in Paris. She lived in New York City and traveled extensively, mostly in Europe. She returned to Princeton in 1971. She was an avid tennis player and enjoyed reading and loved her golden retrievers.
She is predeceased by her parents and her sister Mary Kerney Levenstein. She is survived by her brothers J. Regan Kerney and T. Lincoln Kerney, both of Lawrenceville; her nieces Cairistin Mills of Greenwich, CT, and Ruth McDaniels of Greenbrae, CA; three great-nieces; and two great-nephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 20, 2025 at St. Paul’s Church, 216 Nassau Street, Princeton. Burial will follow in St. Paul’s Cemetery, Princeton.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.