Ronald C. Davidson
Dr. Ronald C. Davidson, Professor of Astrophysical Sciences, Emeritus at Princeton University, passed away Thursday, May 19th at his home in Cranbury. Ron was a devoted family man and an esteemed member of the international plasma physics scientific community and will be greatly missed.
Ron was born on July 3rd, 1941 in Norwich, Ontario, Canada where he grew up on his family’s dairy farm. He was the son of Annie and Crosby Davidson and younger brother to Walter Davidson. On the farm, Ron learned his uncompromising work ethic, which propelled him throughout his life. His academic life started in a one-room schoolhouse on the corner of his family farm that served grades 1-8. Despite these humble beginnings, Ron excelled academically while also contributing greatly to sustaining the family farm. In 1961, Ron met the love of his life, Jean (Farncombe) Davidson, the guiding force that kept him both inspired and grounded throughout his richly productive and joyous life. After graduating from McMaster University in 1963, Ron and Jean married and moved to Princeton, where he received his PhD in Astrophysical Sciences in 1966 from Princeton University.
From his studies at Princeton, Ron was catapulted into a 50 year long career dedicated to the evolution of plasma physics and fusion research that took him across the country and globe. During this time, he made numerous fundamental theoretical contributions to several areas of plasma physics. He also educated and inspired generations of students, both through direct supervision and through the four graduate-level textbooks that he authored.
During Ron’s distinguished career, he served as director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) from 1991-1996 and as director of the MIT Plasma Fusion Center from 1978-1988, and is author or co-author of more than 500 journal articles. Additionally he chaired the American Physical Society’s Division of Plasma Physics and Division of Particle Beams, and has participated in numerous national and international advisory and review committees on plasma physics and fusion research. Among his many recognitions and honors, Ron was awarded the James Clerk Maxwell Prize in Plasma Physics, the highest honor in plasma physics awarded by the American Physical Society.
Despite these accolades and his towering influence within the scientific community, Ron was consistently a humble and unassuming man who placed respect, family, and friends above all else. He was a natural leader, generous mentor, and kind soul.
Ron is survived by his wife of 53 years, Jean Davidson; daughter, Cynthia Premru and her husband, Greg Premru, of Groton, Mass.; son, Ronald Crosby Davidson, Jr. and his wife, Soo Mee Kwon, of Princeton Junction; four grandchildren, Will and Maddy Premru and Crosby and Cayley Davidson; nieces, Arlene Steele of Cambridge and Nyla Jayne Kooman of Virginiatown, Ontario; and nephews, Robert Davidson of Petersberg and Bill Davidson of Toronto, Ontario.
Visitation for friends and family will be held on Wednesday, May 25th 2016, from 4 — 6:30 p.m. at the Saul Colonial Home, 3795 Nottingham Way, Hamilton Square, NJ 08690.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday, May 26th 2016, at 1:30 p.m. at the Princeton United Methodist Church, 7 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08542.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Ron’s memory to the “Prof. Ronald Davidson Memorial Scholarship Fund” at Princeton University. Contributions can be made on-line at makeagift.princeton.edu/MakeAGift.aspx. Please note the fund’s name in the comments box. www.saulfuneralhomes.com.
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Jane Ann Schade
Jane Ann Schade, known to her friends as Ann, and to her grandchildren as Nanny, died on May 14, 2016 at age 90. Ann was pre-deceased by her husband, Dr. Harold R. Schade. She is survived by five children: Nancy S. Hearne, Jane Ann Butehorn, Harold R. Schade, II, Mary Alexis McCormack, Christian S. Schade; 16 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
After raising her children, Ann returned to school and attained a BA degree with highest honors from CW Post College.
A memorial service at Trinity Church in Princeton will be held on May 27th at 10:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, gifts to Trinity Church-Pastoral Ministries would be appreciated.
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Sarah Martha Murdock Bolster
Sarah Martha Murdock Bolster, known as Tink for most of her life, died on May 19, 2016, at her home in Princeton, surrounded by her large and caring family. Tink lived a full, active, vigorous life.
She was born in Washington, D.C., on May 17, 1928, to the late John Edgar Murdock and Sarah Lynch Murdock, who were both from Greensburg, Pa.
She was educated in Washington, D.C., at the Convent of the Sacred Heart from grades 1 through 8 and at Georgetown Visitation Convent for her four high school years, where she graduated first in class.
In 1950, Tink graduated from Smith College, where she was awarded an All-Smith blazer, the college’s highest athletic honor, for making three All-Smith teams during her undergraduate years, including the All-Smith crew team in both her junior and senior years. Tink also studied “The Arts in Britain Today” at the University of London the summer after she graduated from Smith.
After returning from London, she worked in the outpatient department of the Children’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. For several years, Tink taught fourth grade at the Potomac School in McLean, Va. and at Miss Fine’s School in Princeton as well tutoring elementary students in her home.
Tink married Joseph L. Bolster, Jr., on July 12, 1952, in Washington, D.C. They settled in Princeton, and became the parents of six daughters and eight sons — their pride and joy.
An interested and energetic volunteer, Tink served on the Princeton Recreation Board as well as the steering committee for the Renovation of Community Park Pool. She also served on YWCA and YMCA committees, the PTAs/PTOs of Princeton Regional Schools, and was involved in many fund-raising activities for Smith College and the Nassau Swim Club.
In 1972, Tink founded Princeton Area Masters, a year-round, competitive and fitness swim program for adults. She directed this program from 1972 to 2008.
Tink enjoyed athletics all her life, participating in figure skating, field hockey, basketball, tennis, and soccer in high school and college. She rode and showed horses, usually riding her pony “Cherry”, during most of her young life, and took up crew and equestrian events in college. As a 12- and 13-year-old, she twice won the 13 and under Bay Head Yacht Club Sailing Championships in the 12-foot class of sailboat, skippering her own little boat “Scud”.
Later in life, Tink won numerous medals in Masters swim competitions and triathlons. She appeared in Sports Illustrated magazine’s “Faces in the Crowd” section on February 4, 1975, for her swimming successes. In 1997, Tink was awarded the Friends of Princeton Swimming and Diving 250th Anniversary Award. She, along with Joe, was inducted into the Princeton High School Athletic Hall of Fame, appropriately, as a contributor in 2010. And in 2012, Tink won the Lou Abel Distinguished Service Award recognizing her commitment and dedication to Masters Swimming in New Jersey.
The academic life appealed to Tink and when her children were all in school, she took courses in Princeton University’s Continuing Education program in French, Latin, and Greek.
Predeceased by her brother J.E. Murdock, Jr., Tink is survived by her devoted husband, her eight sons Joseph Leo III, James Brennan, Andrew Machesney, Michael McKenna, Thomas Lynch, Charles McKenna, John Edgar Murdock, and Richard Clay; her six daughters Sarah Carroll, Jane Elizabeth, Mary Kathryn, Martha Murdock, Elizabeth Murdock, and Margaret Machesney; seven daughters-in-law, Hillary Kun, Sharon Kelly-Bolster, Heidi Paul, Susannah Ryan, Misuk Choe, Margaret Dawson, and Linda Monastra; five sons-in-law Robert Houghton, Stephen Wertimer, Kevin O’Flaherty, Thomas Arnold, and Thomas Hokinson McKinley; one “significant other” Richard Fenimore; 20 grandchildren; and her sister Elizabeth Murdock Matsch of Longmont, Colo. as well as four nieces and two nephews.
Tink always knew that the “greatest gift I ever received was the privilege of being the mother of our 14 interesting, accomplished, and fun children. Deo Gratias.”
A memorial service will be held Thursday, June 30, 2016, at 11:30 a.m. at the Princeton University Chapel. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Tink’s name to The Smith Fund, P.O. Box 340029, Boston, MA 02241-0429; Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, 1524 35th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 2007-2785; The Friends of Princeton Swimming and Diving, 330 Alexander Street, Princeton, NJ 08540; The Nassau Swim Club, 2 Lower Springdale Road, Princeton, NJ 08540; The Princeton Recreation Department, 380 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, NJ 08540.
Swim, bike, run, Tink! And when you rest, may it be in peace.
Ave atque vale!
Townsend Scudder, Jr.