The writer and editor Richard Atcheson, 71, of Princeton Junction, died at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick March 23. His wife of 44 years, Jean, and his daughter Katie were with him. The cause was a heart attack and multiple system failures.
He is best remembered for his work at AARP The Magazine, where he was executive editor until his retirement, and editor at large until recently.
The eldest child of William H. Atcheson and Dorothy Williams Atcheson, he was born in Houston on August 10, 1934, and educated in parochial schools there and in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was valedictorian of his class at Cascia Hall, an Augustinian preparatory school. He majored in English at Princeton University, one of two students from Oklahoma admitted that year. Much of his free time at Princeton was spent singing; he was music director of the Tigertones and also sang tenor in a close harmony quartet called The Boomerangs, which performed annually during the summer opera festival in Central City, Colorado.
The Princeton Alumni Weekly gave him his first break in journalism, assigning him the "On the Campus" column his senior year.
After a stint in the army, he learned the newspaper business by moving to Chicago and reporting for the City News Bureau, which served all four daily papers. The newspaper columnist Jack Mabley gave Mr. Atcheson his first job, hiring him to be his "legman" at the Chicago Daily News. His next break came when Hugh Hefner offered him work as theater editor on a new magazine he was starting called Show Business Illustrated. Senior editor and feature writing positions at national magazines followed, including Show, Holiday, Saturday Evening Post, Saturday Review, and Lear's.
For the last 10 years he had lived chiefly in Washington D.C., but returned regularly to the family home in Princeton Junction, New Jersey, For the last months of his life, as he became increasingly ill, he lived there exclusively.
In addition to his wife, Jean, of Princeton Junction, he is survived by his children, Katie and Nicholas, both of New York, and Dorothy, of London, England, and three foster children: Kate Skinner, of San Francisco; Michael Skinner, of New York, and Brian Skinner, of Levittown, Pa. A sister, Maryellen Vander Sluis, of Napa, Calif., and a brother, Robert, of Vian, Okla., also survive.
A memorial service for family and friends will be held at Trinity Church in Princeton on Monday, April 10, at 2 p.m., and another gathering will take place in conjunction with his 50th Princeton reunion in June, at which he had been hoping to sing once again with The Boomerangs.
Dr. Harold Porter Eubank, 81, of Kilmarnock, Va., formerly of Princeton, died of cancer on March 23 in Kilmarnock. He was a pioneer in magnetic fusion energy research.
He was a research physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory from 1959 to 1985, where he headed neutral beam research.
He served as chairman of the Division of Plasma Physics at the American Physical Society in 1977. In 1981 he was awarded a Distinguished Associate Award from the U.S. Department of Energy for his leadership in the production and study of neutral beam-heated high temperature plasmas. The research was in support of the nation's fusion energy research program. In 1982 he was awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal and a Life Fellow Membership from the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.
During his career he published more than 100 papers and spoke frequently at scientific meetings around the world.
Dr. Eubank grew up in rural Virginia. After receiving a Bronze Star for his service in the U.S. Army during World War II, he returned to complete a B.S. in physics in 1948 at the College of William and Mary. In 1950 he received an M.S. in physics from Syracuse University, and in 1953 a Ph.D. in physics from Brown University, where he served as an assistant professor until he joined PPPL.
In retirement he moved back to his family's farm in Kilmarnock, where he was active in supporting local creative and performing arts groups.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Alice Bonner Eubank; two sons, H. Porter Eubank II and Charles Stanley Eubank; a daughter, Elizabeth Eubank Stern; two step-children, Diane Jettinghoff and Steven Douglas Witte; his first wife, Harriet Hinman Eubank; and two granddaughters.
Funeral arrangements were by the Currie Funeral Home.
Helen Warren Carroll, 85, a lifelong Princeton resident, died Monday at the Morningside Manor in San Antonio, Texas.
Born in Princeton, she lived on Jefferson Road until she moved to San Antonio in 2004. She graduated from Princeton High School class of 1937, attended Wellesley College, and graduated in 1941 from C.E.F., New York City.
She taught at various nursery schools in New Jersey and was also employed by the Princeton University ticket office for over 25 years. She was an active member of Nassau Presbyterian Church and the Wellesley Club, and she volunteered for the Princeton University Athletic Department and the Hospital Fete.
Daughter of the late Henry and Nellie Clayton Warren, wife of the late Donald D. Carroll whom she married in 1945, she is survived by two daughters, Dee Carroll Morgan of Columbia, S.C., and Honey Carroll Kirk of San Antonio, Texas; and four grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, April 7, at 2 p.m. in the Niles Chapel at Nassau Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau Street, Princeton. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Nassau Presbyterian Church or VITAS Hospice Charitable Fund, 5430 Fredericksburg Rd, San Antonio, Texas 78229. Arrangements are under the direction of the Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.
Mary Alice Phox Gee, 91, of Princeton, died April 7 at home. Born in King William County, Va., she was a Princeton resident for 76 years, a graduate of the Princeton Public School System, and a member of First Baptist Church of Princeton.
Daughter of the late Pleasant and Emma Phox, she was the wife of the late Henry Gee Sr. and mother of the late Helen Grisham, and Vivian Patricia Clark.
She is survived by a son Henry Gee, Jr., sisters Evelyn P. Willis of Trenton; Martha E. Barbour of West Windsor; brothers, Thomas, Alfred, and Floyd Phox, of Princeton; Charles W. Phox of Trenton; and Harold Phox of Virginia.
The funeral service will be at 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 6 at First Baptist Church in Princeton. Calling hours will be 9 a.m. until time of service at the church. Arrangements are by the Hughes Funeral Home.
Ann Wolf, 75, of Princeton, died March 26 at home following a long battle with rheumatoid arthritis.
Born in Goettingen, Germany, she studied early childhood education before emigrating to the United States with her husband in 1952. She became a United States citizen in 1957, and lived the latter half of her life in Princeton.
A dedicated homemaker, she devoted her life to her husband and children, working as a part-time bookkeeper. She found great enjoyment in gardening and handicrafts, and was an active volunteer in civic, school, and youth organizations. An avid international traveler, she relished visiting and corresponding with friends and relatives in America, Europe, and the Middle East.
Daughter of the late August and Emilie Sermond, she was predeceased also by her husband of 55 years, Martin Wolf, professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, in 2004, and by four brothers. She is survived by two sisters, Gerda Henze and Edith Huwald, both of Germany; her children, Michael Wolf of Lowell, Mass., Dr. Thomas Wolf of Mountain View, Calif., Margaret Rabinowich of Pennington, and Dr. Dorothy Butler of Greenville, N.C.; and seven grandchildren.
A private ceremony was held by the family on April 1 at Alloway Funeral Home, Merchantville.
Roberta Ruliffson, 73, a longtime resident of Lawrenceville and Princeton, died November 29 in Princeton Medical Center after a brief illness.
At the time of her death she was semi-retired but continued to maintain a private practice as a clinical social worker.
Originally from Massachusetts, she came to New Jersey to attend Drew University. After earning a master's degree from Smith College School of Social Work in 1962 she worked in a variety of capacities for the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services, and later for the Guidance Clinic of the Catholic Welfare Bureau, where she became Clinical Director in 1973. She completed advanced training at the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research in New York City, and also took advanced courses at the Columbia University and Smith College schools of social work.
In addition to being a psychotherapist, mentor of women, and enthusiastic world traveler, Mrs. Ruliffson was an advocate for animals. She left the bulk of her estate to the Matthew J. Ryan Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, to fund a scholarship for veterinary students and to benefit small animals and the new shelter medicine program.
She is survived by a sister, Marjorie Sheldon of Gainesville, Fla., a niece, and two nephews.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 22 at 2 p.m. at the Unitarian Church of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road. Those wishing to celebrate her life are invited to attend the service and the reception afterwards hosted by friends and colleagues.
Memorial donations may be made to Just Cats Sanctuary, P.0. Box 85, North Branch, N.Y. 12766.
Bernard Gerb, 80, of Princeton, died March 27 of a heart attack in his sleep. He had lived in Princeton for more than 40 years.
Born in Gloversville, N.Y., he attended Cornell University and Rutgers University Law School. During a long career as a patent attorney, he was a managing partner at the firm of Ostrolenk, Faber, Gerb, and Soffen in New York City.
After his retirement, he served on the Mercer County Democratic Committee and was heavily involved in the Princeton community. He was a member of the Jewish Center of Princeton, the Nassau Club, the Rotary Club of Princeton, the Old Guard, the American Jewish Committee, and Community Without Walls. He helped found 55-PLUS, a forum for Princeton-area seniors, and led the organization for more than 15 years, considering it one of his proudest achievements.
He is remembered for his generosity to charitable causes and his devotion to his immediate and extended family.
He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Alice; a son, Andrew of Timonium, Md.; a daughter, Jane of Princeton; two sisters, Riva Salk of Floral Park, N.Y., and Rose Cooper of West Palm Beach, Fla.; and three grandchildren.