J. Taylor Woodward III

J. Taylor Woodward III passed away in Boston on April 23, 2020 from peripheral T-cell lymphoma. His wife, Barbara Hauter, was able to be with him when he died.

Taylor was born on September 10, 1940 in New York City to John Taylor Woodward Jr. and Helen Ashbrook Woodward. Raised in Rye, New York, and Princeton, New Jersey, Taylor graduated from Princeton Country Day School in 1954, Phillips Exeter Academy in 1958, Princeton University in 1962, and Harvard Law School in 1965.

While at Harvard, he married the late Pamela Warner with whom he had three children: John Taylor Woodward IV (Virginia Moodie-Woodward) of Bethesda, MD; Seth Warner Woodward (Jennifer Terra) of Hailey, ID; and Anne Dulles Woodward (Britt Miller) of North Port, FL. He and Pam raised their children in his hometown of Princeton, New Jersey. The marriage ended in divorce in 1982.

Taylor worked on Wall Street as an associate at Cadwalader, Wickersham, & Taft in New York City until 1968, when he joined the legal department at the multi-national health care company Johnson & Johnson. There he worked on both domestic and international assignments, becoming International Counsel and eventually Corporate Secretary for the firm. Shortly before his death, upon hearing that Johnson & Johnson was working on a COVID-19 vaccine, he remarked how proud he was to have worked for that company.

Taylor married Barbara Hauter at a poolside ceremony at their Hopewell, New Jersey, home in 1993. The next year, they moved to Santa Barbara, CA — a city Taylor had fallen in love with on a trip with his son a few years prior. While in retirement there, Taylor served on the boards of S.E.E. International, The Channel Islands YMCA, the Montecito Shores Homeowners Association, and the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara. Taylor and Barbara also enjoyed cycling and hiking trips across Europe. Taylor wryly noted that these trips seemed to involve fewer miles and nicer accommodations as the years passed. Recently, they took eight of their grandchildren on trips to Italy.

At Princeton, Taylor played on the Ivy League championship varsity lacrosse team. He took up distance running in his forties, qualifying for and running the Boston Marathon three times. In retirement, he developed a love for golf, which he enjoyed at La Cumbre Country Club (where he served as president of the Board) and The Valley Club of Montecito. He also served for 25 years as an official for the Southern California Golf Association, which in 2016 gave him the Jim House Award, its highest volunteer honor.

In addition to his children and his wife, Taylor is survived by his sister Helen Ewing of Baltimore, MD, his brother Donald Woodward of Gainesville, FL, his step-daughter Melora Myslik Balson (Andrew) of West Newton, MA, his step-daughter-in-law, Susan Bogue Myslik, of Boston, MA, and ten grandchildren: Lilly and Natalie Woodward; Beverly Woodward; Maggie Bogue Myslik; and Alan, Philip, Isabelle, John, Robert, and Martha Balson. He was preceded in death by his step-son, Robert Hauter Myslik.

For those who have asked, Taylor loved his work with the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara and would be honored to have any memorial donations be directed to that organization.

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Hope E. Schreiber

Hope E. Schreiber passed away on April 27, 2020, at Stonebridge at Montgomery, Skillman, N.J. She was an energetic 95.

Hope was born in Toronto on October 6, 1924, to Joseph and Hetty Dorman. Her family later moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., where her sisters Heather and Valerie were born. Hope attended Bay Ridge High School and graduated in 1941. She then worked for Chase National Bank.

In June 1944, Hope married Charles Schreiber and they moved to Corning, N.Y., where they raised three children — Donald, Nancy, and Stephen — and lived happily for over 40 years.

Hope was involved in a number of volunteer and civic organizations in Corning including the Girl Scouts, the Red Cross, Christ Church, the Salvation Army, the Corning Hospital, and Corning Futures. She also worked for a number of years for Corning Community College and then for her own business, Affiliated Services.

In 1986, Hope and Charlie moved to Princeton, N.J., after Charlie retired from Corning, Inc. In 2002, Charlie passed away. In 2007, Hope moved to Stonebridge at Montgomery where she was an active participant in daily activities for the remainder of her life.

Throughout her life Hope was known for her energy and determination. She loved to walk, talk, and socialize. Given the chance, Hope would dance the night away as she did a year ago at her grandson’s wedding. She was very fond of Thai\Lao and Indian food and liked using FaceTime on her iPad. Most of all, Hope enjoyed being with her family.

Hope is survived by her two sisters and their families, her three children, Donald’s wife, Mary, his two daughters, Stephanie and Suzanne, their son, Nick, and their spouses and children, David, Sean, Kayla, and Brandon O’Sullivan, Jason Schreiber and Meaghen Bouck, Nancy’s husband Greg Hand and their children, Emily, Matthew, and Peter, and their spouses and children, Chris Cashwell, Megan, Beau, Heidi, and Drew Hand, and Alison and Merritt Hand. Hope thought of the Sihavong brothers, Nara, Naret, Narin and Narit, as grandchildren, and their spouses and children, Jennifer, Sheryl, Lily, Noy, Sierra, Dawson, Taylor, Preston, Brandon, Jake, Dani, Sandara, Emma, and Tyler Sihavong as part of her family.

Hope will be deeply missed and forever loved. She will be buried next to Charlie in a private ceremony at the Princeton Cemetery.

Extend condolences and share memories at TheKimbleFuneralHome.com.

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Jay Caras

February 28, 1954-April 7, 2020

It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of Jacob (Jay) David Caras. Born in Long Beach, New York, raised in Princeton, NJ, Jay attended Carnegie Mellon University. Jay made his way west and settled in Seattle to work in the tech industry in 1989.

Referred to as a pioneer of USB Audio, Jay was considered an influencer throughout the field of audio technology. Jay traveled the world and had endless stories from India, Italy, China, Japan, Singapore, and more.

While Jay loved to think about, discuss, and create new audio technology, his interests and talents could not be limited by that one area. Jay loved to cook and prepare meals friends and family requested and discussed for years.

He was an avid cyclist and while he experienced some health setbacks, looked forward to the day when he could bike with his family on the many trails he loved throughout Seattle.

When Jay took an interest in something, he devoted himself to learning everything he could about it. One year it was sunflowers, creating a forest on the deck along with an irrigation system to make sure they all received enough water.

While many would agree that Jay was likely the smartest person they ever met, those who knew him recall how gentle he was. After seeing a show about the energy hummingbirds expend while flapping their wings while eating, Jay bought hummingbird feeders that would allow them to rest while eating. He was quietly caring about friends and neighbors, wanting to help wherever he could.

Jay was inventive, creative, thoughtful, kind, loving, and generous. He was devoted to his family and had a dry sense of humor with impeccable timing. He was the epitome of “still waters run deep,” never wanting to be the center of attention, but with a well-timed observation or joke, required a second look and thought.

Jay leaves behind his loving wife, Randi Abrams-Caras; his son, Avi Caras; and was predeceased by his daughter, Pelli.

Jay is the son of Princeton resident Phyllis Caras and the late Bernard Caras of Princeton and the brother of Jana Gelernt and the late Edward Caras.

Jay is buried in the Bikur Cholim Machzikay Hadath cemetery in Seattle.

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Helen M. Sletta

Helen M. Sletta, 92 of Princeton, died Saturday May 2, 2020. Born in Hallock, Minnesota, she grew up in Grand Forks, ND. She attended Hillcrest Lutheran Academy and then went on to graduate from Deaconess Hospital as a Registered Nurse. Helen started as a Labor and Delivery room nurse and finished her career at the Norwegian Christian Home in Brooklyn, NY.

In 1951, she married Robert Sletta and soon began her life as a pastor’s wife, a role which she embraced. Her gracious hospitality and caring spirit were experienced by many along with her boundless energy! Helen was a member of Bunker Hill Lutheran Brethren Church and served as Sunday School teacher, Ladies Aid President, and Cradle Roll Administrator and sang soprano with the church choir. She especially enjoyed reading with the children, singing duets with her husband, cooking for various committees, and she could always be found cleaning in the kitchen.

She is pre-deceased by her parents, Tom and Effie (Cameron) Minchinton, husband Rev. Robert Sletta, and son John Cameron Sletta, siblings James, Florence, and Thomas Minchinton and Mary Ericksen. Helen is survived by her loving family, brother Donald Minchinton, son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Lori (Olsen) Sletta, daughter Elizabeth Sletta, grandchildren John and Hannah (Kurtz) Sletta, Jesse Sletta and David and Stephanie (Bruckhart) Sletta, and four great-grandchildren, Jonah, Finn, Jack, and Anna.

Funeral Services will be private under the direction of the M. J. Funeral Home, Monmouth Junction. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a memorial service will be held at a later date. Donations can be made in her memory to Bunker Hill Lutheran Brethren Church, Restoring to Serve Building fund.

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Barbara Reed Delafield

Barbara R. Delafield of Hopewell Township, passed away on May 1, due to complications of the COVID-19 virus, at Artis Senior Living of Princeton Junction. She was 83 years old.

Barby was born in New York City on May 31, 1936, the daughter of Elizabeth Bayly deSaussure and William Barton Reed, and the stepdaughter of Edmund Brooke. A graduate of Holton Arms School of Bethesda, MD, she attended Wheaton College, Norton, MA, in 1958. She was married to, and divorced from, Maturin Livingston Delafield; a marriage that produced a son “Livy” who suffered from Osteogenesis Imperfecta and predeceased his mother in 1999.

Barby was a former president of the Stony Brook Garden Club of Princeton, and a Garden Club of America judge for which she was invited to judge competitions in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Dallas. She also loved being invited by museums to interpret works of art into creative arrangements. The Princeton University Art Museum, Montclair Art Museum, Art Museum of Dallas, and especially, the University Museum of Archeology and Anthropology were favorite challenges. Together with her friend Angie Austin, Barby served on the Competitive Classes Committee at the Philadelphia Flower Show and was responsible for helping exhibitors present their entries for judging, and insuring that the entries remained in good condition each day of the show.

In 1982, Barby helped start the Princeton Flower Shop. She enjoyed creating wedding flowers and started her own business, “Occasions,” in 2000. A member of the Historical Society of Princeton, she served on its board for several years, helped organize the Fall House Tours, and helped with the Society’s bookkeeping. Barby was also a “stream watcher” for the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed for over 20 years. In 2014, Barby participated in the Hopewell Valley Arts Council display of 50-plus decorated oxen commemorating the settlement of Hopewell Township. Her “Ox Tops” creation earned a “Most Creative” award.

Barby owned and trained AKC award-winning English Cocker Spaniels, “Maggie” and “Minute.” Maggie earned honors in Obedience and Utility Dog Excellence, and was also a Therapy Dog for 10 years, visiting nursing homes and comforting families of the 9-11 tragedy. Minute earned a title in Utility Dog Excellence, but was more renowned for trying to catch fish in the Adirondack ponds.

There will be no services due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Burial will be at Princeton Cemetery. Memorial contributions in her memory may be made to: the D&R Greenway Land Trust and/or the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association. While we await the time when we can safely come together to celebrate her life please take this time to embrace her memories. Till we meet again…

Extend condolences and share memories at TheKimbleFuneralHome.com.

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Thomas Patrick Roche, Jr.

Professor Thomas Patrick Roche, Jr., 89, passed peacefully after a long illness on May  3, 2020 in Beachwood, Ohio.

Born April 19, 1931 in New Haven, Connecticut, to the late Thomas Patrick Roche, Sr. and Katherine Walsh Roche, Thomas is survived by his loving husband, Robert H. “Bo” Smith; his youngest sister Katherine Roche Bozelko and her husband, Ronald F. Bozelko; three nieces, Chandra Bozelko of Orange, Connecticut, Alana (Paul) Choquette of Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Jana (Christopher) Simmons of Plymouth, Minnesota; and two grandnieces, Alair Choquette and Mair Simmons and a grandnephew, Paul Choquette IV. He was predeceased by his younger sister, Nancy K. Roche of Bethesda, Maryland.

After graduating as valedictorian from Hamden Hall Country Day School in Hamden, Connecticut, Tom received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1953. He went on to earn a master’s degree and a PhD in English from Princeton University in 1958 and was appointed to be a professor in 1960. Until 2003, he was the Murray Professor of English Literature at Princeton.

Tom was a favorite professor to students for decades, enthralling them with his wit and enthusiasm for English literature. After teaching for 43 years at his beloved Princeton, Tom and Bo spent three years as Visiting Professors at Arizona State University, three years at the University of Notre Dame, and then became the Gerard Manley Hopkins Professors of English at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio until Tom’s death. At each university, a “Tom and Bo class” quickly became one of the most popular on campus. They won a Teacher of Year Award at John Carroll University as recently as 2019.

He was a foremost expert in epic poetry, particularly Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene, verse presented to Queen Elizabeth I. Along with numerous academic journal articles, Tom published several books, including the seminal treatment of the poem entitled The Kindly Flame: A Study of the Third and Fourth Books of Spenser’s Faerie Queene in 1964 and the Editorial Apparatus to it in 1984, Petrarch and the English Sonnet Sequences in 1989, and Petrarch in English in 2006. He was also the founder and co-editor for many years of Spenser Studies: A Renaissance Poetry Annual.  He was working on a book about the role of the Muses in art history at the time of his death.

In addition to teaching many brilliant students, Tom studied with and under some illustrious writers and academics. He was C. S. Lewis’s first American student at Cambridge University in England, where his fellow students and best friends were Harold Bloom, the future American literary critic, and Ted Hughes, the future Poet Laureate of England and husband of Sylvia Plath. Tom, Harold, and Ted were known as “The Three Musketeers.”

A memorial service will be planned when it is appropriate for people to gather. Memorial contributions can be made to the Department of English, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544; the Department of English at John Carroll University, University Heights, OH 44118; or any local animal shelter. Professor Roche’s family expresses its gratitude to the entire staff at Menorah Park Nursing Care Residence, and the faculty, staff, and students of Princeton University, Arizona State University, the University of Notre Dame, and John Carroll University.

For whatsoever from one place doth fall,
Is with the tide unto an other brought:
For there is nothing lost, that may be found, if sought.

— Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene

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Larry Richard Grisham

Larry Richard Grisham passed away peacefully at home May 4, 2020 after battling pancreatic cancer.

Larry was born February 2, 1949 in the small town of Henderson, Texas. He was the only child of Eva Fay (Powell) Grisham and James Marian Grisham. James was a pharmacist, at first working in a large drugstore where Larry loved to visit the lunch counter and had his first “job” straightening the magazines, and later owned a small pharmacy after the family moved to Lufkin, Texas. Larry often recalled this time fondly as time spent with his grandparents, who lived on a farm and where he was charged with feeding the chickens. Larry would ride their horse, Old Buckshot (who had earned his name), and who also gave Larry a lifelong respect, although not affection, for horses.

Larry was a gifted student and graduated at the top of his high school class. While in high school he was named a Westinghouse Science Fellow and, as part of the program, spent the summer before college working at the Bureau of Standards in Washington, DC. Larry then chose to attend the University of Texas, Austin, where he studied physics and worked part-time at the geology building. He often spent his free time hiking, caving, and going on adventures in Texas and Mexico. During his first two weeks of classes at UT, Larry met Jacqueline Criswell — they were on a double blind date (with other people) — but Jacqueline was charmed by Larry’s wit, stories, and intelligence and became his life partner and wife of over 40 years.

In 1971, Larry was named a Rhodes Scholar and he and Jacqueline moved to Oxford, England, so he could pursue his PhD in physics. They loved their time in Oxford and used Larry’s academic breaks to travel to the English Lake District, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, and Greece. Larry and Jacqueline particularly loved the Lake District, and wed there in a small ceremony in 1972.

After graduating from Oxford with high honors, Larry was offered and accepted a position at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory at Princeton University. During his time, he worked on numerous international collaborations, including with India, Japan, France, and the UK. During these busy years, he and Jacqueline became the proud parents of Austin Grisham, Dr. Rachel Grisham, and Hilary Grisham Goodwill. They have also been happy in recent years to welcome Jonathon Goodwill and Michael Gapen as sons-in-law, and have been especially delighted to become grandparents to Grace, Mimi, Molly, and Danny Gapen.

Upon his retirement from Princeton University, Larry was offered, and happily accepted, a position with the company Twinleaf, founded by, as he commonly said, “his two best graduate students.” He greatly enjoyed his time with the company until his health began to fail.

As anyone who ever met Larry would attest to, he had an amazing memory and wealth of knowledge. He could easily speak on any number of subjects — and often for a very long time! Larry was always very generous, both with his time, in providing knowledge and advice, and financially, by supporting multiple charitable organizations. He will be dearly missed by family and friends.

Interment will be private. Arrangements by Blackwell Memorial Home. For condolences, go to blackwellmh.com.

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Muriel Vogel Moss

Muriel Vogel Moss, 87, of Princeton, New Jersey, died on Sunday, April 26, 2020 at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center. Dr. Moss was a model for future generations of women, having been an executive and founder of a successful company during a period when there were few women at her level of management. A New Yorker by birth and a longtime resident of New York, she had lived in Princeton for the last two decades.

Shortly after their marriage in 1989, Dr. Moss, with her husband, Dr. Leonard Moss, a psychiatrist, founded the Human Effectiveness Group, Inc., an international human resources consulting firm. She worked with Fortune 500 companies worldwide in the areas of assessment, executive development, and career transition counseling. She pioneered working with women executives, helping them with executive coaching, conflict resolution, and other issues pertinent to women at a time when there were few guidelines and little support for their careers. Her devotion to helping women was evident throughout her life. During the years of an earlier marriage which ended in divorce, she lived in White Plains, NY, and worked for the city’s board of education for ten years heading a program for unwed mothers. She was also a frequent speaker on issues of women in the workplace and career management for women.

Dr. Moss broke ground as a female corporate executive in her own right. Before 1989 she was an executive vice president of Fuchs, Cuthrell & Co, Inc., a human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York with offices in Hackensack, NJ, where she was also Director of Mid-Atlantic Operations. Earlier, she was Vice President for Human Resources for Lytel Incorporated, a start-up high tech electronics company where her responsibility was to hire 200 staff members to implement expansion of the business including engineers, administrators, and supervisors within the space of little over two years.

In addition to her corporate career, Dr. Moss was an expert in teacher education. She held various positions in the New Jersey State Department of Education from 1978-1982 where she was the principal advisor to the Commissioner of Education on matters of higher education. She also held the title of Director of Teacher Education Evaluation. Her major accomplishment in that role was to modernize the standards and processes for evaluating all undergraduate and graduate teacher education programs in the state. During that period, she served as a member of the New Jersey Commission on Employment and Training appointed by Governors Kean and Florio. She also became well known on a national level as a program development specialist for the National Teacher Corps for which she did training and development, and traveled the country to evaluate national, state, and local programs funded by government and private sources.

Dr. Moss was born in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx on September 7, 1932, the daughter of the late Morris Laufer and the late Ida Raich. Her father was the president of Laufer & Rothbaum, a wholesale furniture and hardware company in Manhattan. She received her BA from New York University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa; her MA in Early Childhood Education, also from New York University; and her PhD in Urban Education/Policy Analysis from Fordham University. As an undergraduate, she majored in English and Spanish. After graduation from college, her proficiency in Spanish led her to live in Cuba for a period of time. There, she earned her living as a journalist. She remained fluent, and later in her life, often found her Spanish useful, as the United States became more Spanish speaking.

Dr. Moss was also devoted to the community and the visual arts — particularly to prints. She and her husband were well known for their collection of modern and contemporary prints. In addition they actively supported artists who made prints. Dr. Moss and her husband were the founding co-chairs of the Advisory Council for the Rutgers University Center for Innovative Print and Paper, now the Brodsky Center and located at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. She also served as an officer for the Print Club of New York for many years where she organized events that featured emerging print artists, often launching their careers and public recognition.

She is survived by three children, David Vogel, a lawyer in Seattle, WA; Robert Vogel, a lawyer in Washington, DC; and Dr. Laura Vogel, a psychiatrist in Amherst, MA; as well as five grandchildren, Steven Farber, San Francisco, CA; Jason Farber, Baltimore, MD; Rebecca Vogel, Washington, DC; and Claire Vogel and Jack Vogel, San Luis Obispo, CA.

A virtual funeral service was held on Tuesday, April 28 with a later in-person celebration of her life planned for after the COVID-19 crisis allows gatherings to take place.

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Sue Bishop
1926-2020

Susan Irene Hauser, later Bishop, was 93 years old when she died peacefully in Princeton on Sunday morning, April 26, 2020.

Sue was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on October 25, 1926, to Irene Marie Melgaard Hauser and Walter Urban Hauser. Almost four years later, Irene and Walter had a second daughter, Jane Elizabeth, later known as Jane Pejsa. Sue’s parents and her sister preceded her in death.

After West High School Susan left Minneapolis for Mount Holyoke College where she graduated in 1948 with a B.A in Philosophy and a minor in Art. Susan married Ty Bishop and they moved to New York City. Sue worked while her husband attended medical school. Susan and Ty later divorced.

A talented artist, Sue worked as a book designer at a series of premier publishers through her career, starting in New York in the commercial domain and quickly moving to her long tenure in the academic world. Sue was also very eager to experience and understand other cultures, art, and food, and she traveled widely throughout her working and retirement years.

In the 1960s Sue worked for Columbia University Press, during which time she lived in Columbia University faculty housing by the campus in Manhattan, close to Harlem. She was a dedicated adopted New Yorker and, when her out-of-town family fretted about the dangers of the Big Apple, Susan ignored them and lived a rich cultural life with her friends for many years. Finally, when a friend was mugged in the elevator of Sue’s building, she changed her plans and moved to Baltimore, Maryland, to join Johns Hopkins Press in the late 1970s. In Baltimore her home life was grounded in her big studio, with beautiful old wood floors, walls of windows, and room for drawing board, her art and photography.

In the early 1990s Sue made the move to Princeton, New Jersey, to join Princeton University Press. There she bought a tiny, charming stone cottage, a gem hidden in a quiet neighborhood of lovely houses and neighbors close to campus. Sue quickly filled her nest with cooking, reading, and art from her travels, every inch of space carefully thought out, and from there built her community of friends and activities that she treasured for the decades she spent there.

Sue did not have children, but she played important roles in the lives of her sister Jane’s children, Ilse and Franz, who was also her godson. In Princeton her beloved niece-in-law Conchita came often to visit and assist her, and the two traveled together on some memorable adventures, including to NYC and to Paris. Susan enjoyed many trips to Virginia to Franz and Conchita, and occasional forays to Colorado to visit Ilse.

A fiercely independent woman, Sue was always determined to meet life’s challenges on her own terms. Due to her self-determination and generous support from her community, Sue was able to complete life in her own home until almost to the end of her time in the world.

Susan is survived by her loving godson-nephew Franz Gayl, by Franz’s wife and Sue’s good friend, Conchita Gayl, by her niece Ilse Gayl and her husband James Logan, and by her extended family of Melgaard and Hauser cousins of multiple generations.

Her family is exceptionally grateful to the people who supported Sue so thoroughly, especially during her later years in Princeton. Sue’s wishes were to be cremated and her ashes interred next to the graves of her parents and her sister at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. Special thanks are extended to Kimble Funeral Home staff for their kind and compassionate support throughout. Memorial services will be announced later.