Charles Edward Bush Sr., Ph.D.

Dr. Charles Edward Bush Sr., 85, formerly of Loomis Court in Princeton, died on April 21, 2024, in Glendale, California. He was a longtime resident of Princeton before moving to California in 2017.

Dr. Bush was born on August 21, 1938, in Miami, Florida, to the late Charles and Izetta Bush. He was the fourth of eight children, all of whom were first-generation college graduates.

He earned four higher-education degrees: Bachelor of Science degrees in mathematics and engineering from Knoxville College (Tennessee) and Lafayette University (Pennsylvania), and Masters and Doctorate degrees in nuclear engineering and nuclear physics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He was a veteran who served two years in the U.S. Army.

His talents in math and science sparked a lifelong passion for pursuing the most difficult scientific challenges of humanity, particularly, safe, clean, and renewable energy. He had a 35-year career as an experimental physicist in nuclear fusion energy and plasma physics research at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee. He was a pioneer in the study of Tokamaks, H-mode (high confinement) plasmas, toroidal plasmas, and novel applications of lasers. He authored and co-authored many scientific papers, conference papers, and presentation reports, some of which have been cited by other authors in his field.

Dr. Bush relished opportunities to share ideas with peers in his field as the pursuit of nuclear fusion became a global effort. He participated in conferences and visited laboratories and universities throughout North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

The pinnacle of his career was a three-year assignment at CEA Cadarache Technological Research and Development Center for Energy in the South of France, near Aix-en-Provence. During his tenure at Cadarache, he collaborated with scientists from around the world during the design phase of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). He and his wife, Alyce, lived in Venelles, a village outside of Aix-en-Provence. They made friends among the locals and immersed themselves in French culture and cuisine. They traveled throughout France and Italy and considered it to be one of the best times of their lives. Every day was an adventure for them.

Dr. Bush was a member and elder of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church in Princeton, a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party, and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He belonged to several professional societies: the American Physical Society, Sigma Xi, the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association, the American Nuclear Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Society of Black Physicists, and the review panel for the Department of Energy’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Nuclear Energy Training Program.

He loved computers (especially Macs), photography, basketball, football, track and field, the music of Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Motown, and Mozart, Westerns, science fiction, and his Loomis Court neighborhood.

He was a beloved and devoted husband, father, and grandfather, and is survived by his wife of 58 years, Alyce (Walker) Bush; daughter, Lisa C. Bush; son, Charles Edward Bush Jr.; daughter-in-law, Kate Eberle; two grandsons; two sisters, Gertrude (Bush) Thomas and Vanessa (Bush) Gibson; and several nephews and nieces.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Dr. Bush’s memory to Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church, 112 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, NJ 08540 (witherspoonchurch.org/give), or to The Paul Robeson House and Museum of Princeton, 112 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, NJ 08542 (give-usa.keela.co/Donate2023).

Irene M. Amarel

Irene M. Amarel died quietly in her home in Princeton, NJ, on May 22, 2024. She was 89 and had been battling glioblastoma for a year and a half.

Irene was born on October 20, 1934 in Newark NJ. Her father, Jacob Kaplan, had emigrated to the U.S. as a young boy and had attained a law degree and later became a Rabbi. Jacob died when Irene was 13 and her mother Sade, supported the family which included her beloved brother Daniel and older sister, Helen.

Irene attended Weequahic High School and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Douglass College as an English major. After college, she taught high school English at Verona High School. She loved poetry and literature, captivating her students with her enthusiasm and passion.

In 1957 she married Dr. Stanley Rosenberg. They had two children, James and Drew Ann.

Although Irene and Stan divorced in 1971, they later became close friends along with their partners, Dave and Betsy. This was a great blessing for their kids and grandkids.

In 1972, Irene attended Rutgers Law School and earned a law degree. Irene was a trailblazer and one of the leading female matrimonial lawyers in N.J. at a time when they were scarce. She was one of the first female members of the AAML, New Jersey chapter. This is an organization whose members take tests and must show high qualifications and are considered to be the crème de la crème from each state. She started her career working for the renowned firm of Skoloff and Wolfe and then practiced family law with the firm of Ulrichsen, Amarel & Freed. When that firm ended, Irene established a mediation practice. As an attorney, Irene was beloved by her clients, adversaries, and coworkers alike. She was a respected adversary, always vigorously promoting her clients’ interests, while maintaining the civility and graciousness that were her trademark. In 2002 she received the award from the Mercer County bar association for professional lawyer of the year.

Irene loved to sing and had a beautiful voice. She sang throughout high school and college and often sang show tunes with her children, loving to harmonize with them. She often took her kids to musical theater in NYC. Irene was an actress as well, attending classes in NYC, and was cast in starring roles in many plays in the Princeton community.

Irene married Saul David Amarel in October of 1990 and spent many happy years with him until he died in 2002. Irene loved to travel and took many trips with Saul all over the world. She collected beautiful pieces from her trips abroad and antique stores, decorating their home with style and elegance.

Later, when she retired, she studied and became a docent at the Princeton University Art Museum, allowing her passion for beautiful works to become a vehicle to educate others. One of her favorite programs as a docent was leading tours for children from underprivileged neighborhoods. Schools would bus the kids to the museum and Irene was given the opportunity to excite them with the art from ancient civilizations. They would create their own drawings as well, which was especially fun.

Irene was a huge dog lover and although she never had dogs as a child, was never without one or two as an adult. They attended all of her mediations!

Irene also volunteered in many community organizations. She was secretary of the Evergreen Society and active in the Glenn Neighborhood. She joined a book club and was a member of an acting troupe called the Senior Players, and Nia, a dance group. An accomplished cook and hostess, Irene hosted many memorable dinner parties at her Princeton home.

Irene met her partner, Dave Miller, in 2012. Dave is a musician and he and Irene loved to play and sing together and they loved to dance! One of their favorite times was the yearly Princeton Festival, where they got to dress up in formal attire and cut the rug. Dave co-owned a property with his siblings in Glen Lake, Michigan, and Irene joined forces with them and together they built a beautiful vacation home where they spent many happy summers, along with Dave’s kids and grandkids who often came to visit.

Irene’s incredible style and elegance was always a topic for her many admirers. When she walked in a room, she captivated everyone with her beauty, sophistication, and charm. People felt honored to have her as a friend. When she was in her 80s, younger women were blown away by her youthfulness and vitality. One woman asked her how she managed to look so young. She replied simply, “Good posture.” Irene’s kindness, warmth, intelligence, and wit will be remembered by many people whose lives she touched.

She is survived by her partner, Dave Miller; her son, James Allen Rosenberg; daughter, Drew Ann Rosenberg; daughter-in-law Giovanna Holden; son-in-law, John Anderson; and grandsons, Jeff, Dan Rosenberg, Sam Anderson and granddaughter-in-law, Kristin Mason.

She will be very much missed by all of her friends and family.

There will be a Celebration of Life Service on June 8 at 5 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton. All are welcome.

Donations in honor of Irene can be made to Sciencementors.org.

Janet Marino Hautau

Janet Marino Hautau, one of the earliest women art directors in the field of advertising, died on March 8, in Princeton, NJ. She was 92.

Featured on the cover of Madison Avenue magazine in 1963 as the lone female Art Director in the all-male world of New York advertising, Janet stood out – and alongside – other female advertising trailblazers of the time such as Mary Wells Lawrence and Shirley Polykoff.

An alumna of Pratt Institute, Janet’s first job was with a one-man agency which proved to be more workout than work, as she spent her days being chased around the desk by her boss. Not one to be discouraged, nor chased, she quickly landed a job as a renderer at Ellington & Company in Manhattan, where she worked for advertising legend Julian Koenig, and counted Fred Papert, George Lois, Helmut Krone and Harold Kreiger, among other industry notables, as her close friends. After a decade at Ellington, she moved on to the Young & Rubicam (Y&R) agency.

Janet met her husband Fred Hautau in the revolving door at Y&R and legend has it that when Janet told her then boyfriend Alan that she would be marrying Fred, Alan fainted on the kitchen floor of her parent’s house. Janet had that effect on people.

Some of her award-winning ad campaigns necessitated working with an elephant, drawing bubble baths at a suite in the Plaza, and being kissed on both cheeks by Laurel & Hardy (impersonators).

Janet Ann Marino was born in 1932 in Tenafly, NJ. Her father, Mike Marino, was a stockbroker until the 1929 market crash, and then a men’s clothing salesman at Sears & Roebuck. Her mother Jean (Fasano) Marino was a homemaker who raised four children, of which Janet was the oldest.

Janet was a preternaturally gifted artist though she never envisioned working as one. It was her Uncle Larry and high school principal Miss Preston who insisted that Janet apply to Pratt, a school she had never heard of though it was less than 24 miles from her home.

A striking, auburn-haired Italian beauty with an aquiline nose, Janet set her own agenda from an early age and was fond of saying, “Agree with what they ask you to do, but do what you want anyway.”

Though Janet stopped commuting to Manhattan in the ’70s, she never stopped working nor creating art. Janet operated her Princeton-based design studio while pursuing her lifelong interest in fine art as an illustrator, watercolorist, photographer, and printmaker. Her more recent work emphasized monoprints derived from her distinctive photographs.

She exhibited her work throughout the tri-state area, and taught at the Princeton Adult School and Rider University.

Janet is survived by her daughter Michelle Hautau Klein; two grandchildren, Josie and Sam Klein; her brother Michael Marino; her partner David McClure; and a loving extended family. She is preceded in death by her sisters Lois Marino and Caryl Marino Alers.

Janet was known for her ability to create exquisite beauty from the everyday, to make new acquaintances feel like old friends, her playful humor, and unsolicited candor. She shared life learnings freely: “Always wear great shoes — people look at your shoes first” and “Old age is for the birds.”

A private gathering has been held and the family requests that donations be sent to a charity of the donor’s choice in memory of Janet.