Patricia Peck Tiebout

After shining her light for 98 years, Patricia Peck Tiebout died while sleeping at home in Princeton, in the early morning of May 9, 2022.

Family members, neighbors and longtime friends recall her warmth, kindness, and beautiful smile, all of which she had until the very end, all of which she brought into this world on March 25, 1924, when she was born in Dobbs Ferry, NY, to parents Edwin D. and Helen Radley Peck.

Being of a generation that grew up during the Depression and World War II, Patty learned the values of sharing, frugality, pitching in, and being grateful. Repeating the advice from her aunt Lillie Peck, “You have to take the cookies when they’re passed,” Patty counted her blessings and found strength in the love of family and the beauty of nature.

After graduating from Hastings High School, Patty studied for two years at Wheaton College, (Norton, MA), and transferred to Cornell University, where she was a member of the ski team. She graduated from Cornell in ’46, and worked with Dr. Arnold Gesell at the Yale Child Study Center. While living in New Haven, she met John Tiebout Jr., of Larchmont, NY, on a blind date at a Yale football game. They were married in November of 1949 and lived in Levittown, LI, and Dobbs Ferry, before they moved to Hastings.

Through her cherished years of child-raising, Patty was an active member of The Hastings Literature Club. She volunteered as a reading teacher at The Children’s Village, taught Sunday school, substitute taught at the elementary school, and worked as an office administrator for 10 years at the Church of St. Barnabas in Irvington, NY. In 1979, Patty and John moved to Seattle and, having loved being in a university town, chose to live in Princeton when they moved back east in ’82. Patty volunteered at Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, worked at McCarter Theatre, and was a member of the Present Day Club and Nassau Presbyterian Church.

Patty was predeceased by her parents and her sisters, Dorothea, Helen, and Marion Peck. Survivors include John, her devoted husband of 72 years; her children, John Tiebout, Janet Hanson, and Mary Tiebout; her grandchildren, Johanna and Eli Evans, Meredith and Christopher Hanson, and Jack and James Tiebout; and her great-grandsons, Finn Danaher and
Henry Tiebout. She also leaves her daughters-in-law Wendy Satin and Barbara Johnson, son-in-law Nathanael Evans, and nieces and nephews from the Dwyer, Kieffer, Vosburgh, and Reisman families. Patty and her best friend from childhood, Betsy Sargent Ford, exchanged birthday greetings in March.

Special thanks to Dr. John Sierocki for his excellent care and generous spirit, and to his staff, especially Allyn and Andrea, for theirs. Memorial gatherings will take place during the summer. If you knew Patty and wish to remember a loving, brave and vibrant woman who parasailed on her 80th birthday and waterskied on her 82nd, give yourself and others your brightest smile.

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Lawrence “Larry” Bershad

Professor Lawrence “Larry” Bershad passed away peacefully on May 14, 2022 at the age of 82, surrounded by his loved ones. Born on June 25, 1939 in New Haven, CT, he grew up near Yale University, and had fond memories of playing baseball with friends in the Yale Bowl.

Larry was an avid sports fan, especially the NY Yankees, and felt most at peace camping and vacationing on Small Point in ME. He was happiest when surrounded by his friends and family, sharing stories, good food, and animated conversation. Larry’s keen intellect, sharp wit, compassion, and advocacy for his students and those in need will be deeply missed by those who loved him.

Larry graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.A. in 1961 and from Georgetown Law School with a J.D. in 1964, followed by a fellowship at Harvard University Law School. He served as the Commissioner of Corrections for the State of Vermont early in his career and remained a fierce protector of civil rights throughout his life. His work as a criminal defense attorney led him to a storied career as a Professor of Criminal Law and Procedure at Seton Hall University School of Law where he mentored and taught many generations of future advocates from 1972-2000. He established the Seton Hall Legislative Bureau and the annual Sports Law Symposium, which positively impacted many students during his tenure.

Larry was the son of Matthew and Blanche Bershad of New Haven, CT, and Delray Beach, FL. Larry is survived by his son David, his daughter Bonnie and son-in-law George Zinn, their two sons George and Matthew, his former wife Shirley Bershad, and his partner, Ronnee Rothschild.

There will be a private graveside service held on Wednesday, May 18, 2022 in New Haven, CT.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Protect Democracy (protectdemocracy.org) or ACLU (aclu.org).

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Robert A. Altman

Robert A. Altman, age 79, of Princeton, N.J., passed away on May 15, 2022 after courageously fighting lung cancer for more than a year. He will be remembered and cherished by his family and friends forever.

Bob, as he was known by all, was born on March 30, 1943, the only child of Julian and Kay Altman. He grew up primarily in Chicago, Illinois. From age 13 until his graduation from high school, Bob attended Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana, where he excelled academically and made many lifelong friends. He then attended Harvard College, majoring in Medieval History. While at Harvard, Bob met his future wife Jane on a “blind date” in 1963. The couple married in 1965 and lived in married student housing at Columbia University while Jane completed her senior year in college and Bob obtained first a Master’s Degree and then a Ph.D. in Education from Columbia. Daughter Jennifer was born in 1967, followed by son John in 1969.

He spent his professional life in a variety of administrative position in Higher Education, including The City University of New York, The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education in Boulder, Colorado, and as a Vice President of Educational Testing Service in Princeton, N.J., from 1980 to 1995. Bob supervised ongoing test development and the operation of a variety of programs at ETS, including the Graduate Record Exam and TOEFL. He was very involved in the expansion of ETS’s international programs which sent him to China, Japan, and Korea among other countries. After leaving ETS, Bob was able to indulge his love of travel, particularly to countries not on the standard tourist list, by consulting for both USAID and The World Bank in a variety of countries, including Albania, Egypt, Hungary, Jordan, Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. He also worked extensively in Vietnam, helping to design and implement new admission criteria for the Vietnam National University in Hanoi.

A valued member of several college boards of trustees, Bob served as a trustee for Mercer County Community College, Montclair State University (which awarded him an honorary degree), and most recently The College of New Jersey. He particularly enjoyed serving on the Board of Trustees at TCNJ and regularly attended Zoom meetings throughout Covid and debilitating lung cancer treatments. Always an enthusiastic trustee, Bob was known for attending sporting events and other student related activities at these institutions. From 1998 until his death, he also served on several  Princeton committees that addressed traffic safety issues.  In all of these commitments Bob forged lasting friendships.

In his spare time, Bob was an avid squash and tennis player. In his later years he became an accomplished cyclist, and spent many hours training each summer for the Five Boro Bike tour in New York City. There was  also no sports event that he didn’t enjoy watching, most especially Phillies and Cubs baseball games and every football game that was ever played.

Bob’s many friends, colleagues, and family valued his irreverent wit and dry sense of humor. His most consistently appreciative audience was his wife Jane throughout their 56 years of marriage.

A truly loving father and grandfather, Bob is survived by his daughter Jennifer Altman (son in law Maurice Edelson), his son John Altman (daughter in law Dr. Sima Paul), and his grandchildren Rachel, Benjamin, Nathaniel, Daniel, and Meera. He was so proud of all of them.  Bob counted himself very fortunate because his two youngest grandchildren live in Princeton and his two oldest attended, or are currently attending, Princeton University, affording him unusual access to all of them. Bob is also survived by many dear friends in N.J., in Colorado, and in other states who were part of his extended family. Each and every one of them will miss him forever.

Funeral services were held on May 17 at The Jewish Center of Princeton, with burial at the Princeton Cemetery.

Shiva will be observed on Wednesday, May 18 from 4-7 p.m. at the Altman residence in Princeton.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the charity of your choice.

Funeral arrangements are by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel. To send condolences to the family please visit OrlandsMemorialChapel.com.

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Anne Young

Naomi Anne Young, always known as Anne, passed away at Stonebridge on Thursday, May 12.  Her family of Kenneth, Alasdair, Gwyneth, Paige, and Cameron were all with her and she expressed her love for them.

Anne was born in Bolton, England, in 1936 to James and Annie Partington. She experienced the difficulties of wartime England before her father’s new job took the family to Aberdeen in northeast Scotland at the war’s end. She attended the local High School and Aberdeen University where she graduated with an MA in English. She performed in many theatrical productions there and also met her husband to be.  A treasured memory was of sitting on top of a local mountain, Craigendarroch, at midnight with her then boyfriend, Kenneth, before the morning when their final exam results were to be announced.

She worked briefly at Harrods in London before taking up a seven-year teaching career in England and then in the Rhodesias, now Zambia and Zimbabwe. During this period she had become engaged to Kenneth but it was broken off.  But they continued to correspond and in 1965 she married him and came to the United States (she considered that she had her divorce before she got married). She worked at teaching speed reading for students in Princeton to support her husband to complete his Ph.D. at Princeton University. She broke off work to care for her two children, Alasdair and Gwyneth, but was active in volunteering for the Princeton University Art Museum and Recording for the Blind in Princeton.

Four years were spent in England while her husband worked at a branch of the University of Manchester. While her children were in school, she was able to indulge her interest in archaeology. She learned that there were complications to archaeology during her search for the route of Offa’s Dyke on the Welsh border when she was interrupted by curious young bullocks. She returned to Princeton with her family at the end of 1974. Almost immediately she became the chairperson for the docents of the Art Museum, her necessary qualification being the spouse of a University faculty member. During her tenure, she oversaw the change of the constitution to make being a docent available to everybody, including men, and introduced training for new members. She was an active docent for many more years.

She was appointed to head the Princeton Studio of Recording for the Blind (RFB). During her many years in charge she lead the most productive of the RFB studios within the organization, saw it through its addition of dyslexic students, started its use in schools and added a secondary studio in Plainsboro. She retired as Executive Director of the New Jersey Unit of what has become “Learning Ally” and continued to read for them for many years.

After she retired, she devoted a lot of time to her garden. She traveled extensively with her husband in Europe round the ancient classical world and to many sites in Central and South America. She enjoyed wonderful safaris in Kenya and Botswana with her family.  There were many trips to Scotland and England to see family and to enjoy the scenery, gardens, and museums. Anne found peace in crouching over tidal rock pools or sitting by a gurgling mountain stream.

She is survived by her immediate family; her brother Noel Partington, his wife Jean, and their three daughters, Lucy, Anna and Amy and their families; three nephews, Gordon, Robert, and Peter Young; and a number of cousins.

A service of remembrance will be held at Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton (of which she had been a long term member) on Thursday, May 26 at 11 a.m. Instead of flowers, please make any remembrance donations to Arm In Arm in Princeton, NJ. Arrangements are under the direction of Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.