Raymond R. Wadsworth
Raymond R. Wadsworth, 80, of Princeton died Thursday, May 31, 2018 at Capital Health System at Hopewell.
Born in Johnstown, Pa., he was a resident of Princeton for 60 years. He also owned a shore home in South Seaside Park where he enjoyed spending time with his family and friends. He was the owner of the Flower Market and Wadsworth Gourmet Bakery in Princeton. He was the founder of Spirit of Princeton. A Past Fire Chief, he served for 55 years as a member of Mercer Engine Company #3. He currently was chaplain for the fire company. A member of St. Paul’s Church, he served as head usher and Eucharistic Minister, was a member of the Pastoral Council and St. Vincent DePaul Society, and was a 4th Degree Knight with the Princeton Knights of Columbus Council #636. He also started the Blue Mass at St. Paul’s. He was a member and a Chaplain of the Red Knights. He was a member of the Princeton Borough Council. He started the Princeton High School Post Prom. He coached Little League Football and was a Boy Scout Leader for Troop #88. He started a flag burning ceremony to dispose of old flags. Ray loved people, he purchased a fire truck for a dollar and shipped it to Nicaragua so they can save lives.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jacqueline (Nebus) Wadsworth; one son and daughter-in-law R. Keith and Elizabeth Wadsworth; a daughter Kathleen Wadsworth; and three grandchildren Keith, Jesse, and Andrew Wadsworth.
The Funeral will be held 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 6, 2018 at The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Ave., Princeton. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Paul’s Church, 214 Nassau St., Princeton. Burial will follow in Princeton Cemetery.
Calling hours were Tuesday, June 5, 2018 at the funeral home. A Fireman’s Service was held at 8 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Paul’s Church (for the Prayer Garden), 214 Nassau St., Princeton, NJ 08542.
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Jerry Freedman
Dr. Jerome Kenneth Freedman, 88, passed away peacefully in Princeton, on June 4, 2018. He was predeceased by his loving wife, Carol, who passed away in December, 2017. His funeral service will take place at Mather Hodge in Princeton on Thursday, June 7th at 11 a.m.
Known as Jerry, he will be missed by his large family that includes three daughters, Emily Stollar (and Lawrence) of Vienna, Va.; Elizabeth (“Tizzy”) Bannister of New York, N.Y.; and Eleanor (“Ellie”) Deardorff (and Craig) of Princeton.
Jerry also had eight grandchildren, Aaron Stollar (and Janna), Sam Stollar (and Lauren), Sarah Stollar Smith (and Michael), Peter Deardorff, Saren Deardorff, Madeleine Deardorff, Edmund Bannister, and Miranda Bannister.
Also, bringing much joy to Jerry were his great-grandchildren. His great-grandsons Oliver and Henry Smith and Nathan Stollar were recently joined by Caroline Stollar, Jerry’s first great-granddaughter, named after her great-grandmother and Jerry’s wife Carol.
Jerry was the son of Dr. Barnett and Lillian Freedman. He grew up in New Haven, Conn. and had the distinction of being the first baby born at Yale New Haven Hospital by Caesarian who lived.
Before Jerry and Carol moved to Princeton in 1997 for retirement, Jerry was an ophthalmologist in New Haven, Conn. He had his own practice since 1963 and had surgery privileges at the Hospital of St. Raphael and Yale New Haven Hospital.
After graduating from Phillips Academy Andover, Jerry earned his AB from Yale University in 1951, his MD from Tufts College Medical School in 1955, and went on to do an Internship at Yale-New Haven Hospital from 1955-56.
From 1956-58, Jerry served as a Captain and flight surgeon in the United States Air Force and was stationed in Texas, Alabama, and Wisconsin.
His completed his Ophthalmology Residency at the University of Chicago in 1961, followed by serving as an Instructor from 1961-1963 and participating in an NIH Fellowship in Ophthalmology from 1958-1963. Jerry earned his MS (Surgical degree) from the University of Chicago in 1963.
Jerry was always very involved in the medical community beyond his practice. He served as President of the Medical Staff at the Hospital of St. Raphael in the 1990s and was a delegate to the AMA in the 1980s- ’90s, among his many appointments.
In New Haven, Jerry and Carol enjoyed belonging to the Quinnipiack Club and Mory’s Association. They also were longtime members of the Yale Club of New York.
When they moved to Princeton in 1997, they placed themselves closer to all three of their daughters but in town with one.They were an active part of their daughters’ and grand-childrens’ lives, seen at their plays, concerts, birthday parties, grandparent days at school, soccer matches, and swim meets.
In his early years in Princeton, Jerry devoted many hours a week being recorded at Recording for the Blind, now Learning Ally. His specialty was science related material.
Jerry and Carol made many wonderful new friends in Princeton, in many cases through their memberships at The Nassau Club and Carol’s at the Present Day Club.
Jerry was a big reader and was known to have strong opinions on a rather large range of topics. His personality which ranged from very quiet and introspective to quite animated, was appreciated by all who knew him. He will be missed greatly.
Friends and family are invited to the Nassau Club following the burial at Princeton Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center or Learning Ally in Princeton.
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Elizabeth Reilly Steele
Elizabeth Poole Reilly Steele (Betty), a 60-year resident of Princeton, beloved mother of six, and grandmother of eight, died May 30, 2018. Born February 28, 1928, in Boston, she was the cherished only child of Eugenia Poole Reilly and James Crowley Reilly of Lowell, Mass.
Betty’s delightful childhood was enriched by the Reilly clan of Lowell, especially her seven next door cousins. One, Grace Reilly Conway, became Betty’s lifelong best friend. They spent nearly every day of their young lives together, including more than 80 summers at Drakes Island, Maine. That tranquil space became Betty’s foundation, the getaway she later enjoyed for so many summers with her own children. There she instilled in each of them an appreciation for place and a devotion to family, as well as the beauty of storytelling as she recreated many wonderful experiences with her loving Daddy, devoted Auntie Bud, and many family and friends.
She attended Lowell schools and became lifelong friends with Libby Drury King of Falmouth, Me. (their mothers were also great friends). Betty graduated from Rogers Hall School for Girls, where she was editor-in-chief of the literary yearbook and valedictorian of her graduating class. She attended the College of St. Elizabeth with her cousin, Grace, before transferring to Manhattanville College. There she became an officer of the English Club, earned a degree in sociology, and was awarded a Child of Mary medal.
Betty began her working life as a reporter for the Lowell Sun, where she had a by-line for the column “And Have You Heard,” focusing on the social and cultural activities of the Lowell community. Interviewing First Lady Mamie Eisenhower was both an exceptional opportunity and a pinnacle of Betty’s career. She also had occasion to meet with actress Dorothy Lamour and director Alfred Hitchcock while they were in town on a movie promotion tour.
Betty married in 1953 and the couple moved to Charlottesville, Va., then Riverside and Merced, Calif. She loved the adventure of traveling the country and relished the challenges of independence. With the births of her first two children in California, Betty found her true calling: motherhood. The family returned east and lived briefly on Staten Island before choosing Princeton to settle with three, then six, young children. Betty chose to make this town her home for the rest of her life.
Her children were Betty’s greatest source of pride and joy. She had a talent for making each of her six feel special, carving out coveted time alone with one or another and creating lasting memories out of the smallest activities such as celebrating her late father’s birthday on Valentine’s Day. She brought joy to each day, somehow knew just what to say in hard times, and personified unconditional love.
Betty went on to raise the children alone, and faced down difficulties with the support of devoted friends such as Flora Hicks. Rarely faltering, Betty set a powerful example of grace under pressure. She became a woman perhaps not even she knew she could be: resilient, resourceful, self-reliant, and successful. She went back to work, joining Gallery 100 on Nassau Street, which was owned by her dear friend Fleurette Faus. When Betty moved into advertising and public relations, she found an interest that would last the rest of her career. The personal and professional converged in her role as director of public relations for Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Princeton, which all four of her daughters had attended and she had helped found in the 1960s.
Her physical beauty lasted through each stage of her life, but Betty was much more than her captivating smile. She had an equally lovely singing voice, a passion for reading, a great talent for writing, and a flair both for decorating and entertaining — interests many of her children have carried forth. She expanded her writing skills with poetry courses at Princeton University where the quality of her work was noted, and often delighted family and friends with poems and limericks. Betty was instrumental in the preservation of Princeton’s historic houses, having fully restored her Colonial Revival home at 250 Mercer Street. She enjoyed activities at the Present Day Club of Princeton, was a proud founder of the TWIN Awards (Tribute to Women & Industry) program at the YWCA, and chaired the Lane of Shops major fundraiser of the Princeton Hospital Fete.
Betty is survived by six loving children: James Reilly Steele and his wife Elizabeth of Sao Francisco Xavier, Brazil; Eugenie Steele Dieck and her husband David of Lafayette Hill, Pa.; Mary Ellen and her husband Joseph; Elizabeth Steele and her wife Margaret Drugovich of Oneonta, N.Y., and Castine, Me.; John Steele and his wife Julie Tippens of Arlington, Va.; and Margaret Steele and her husband Robert Rieth of Sherman Oaks, Calif. Betty’s love for life will also continue in her eight grandchildren: Andrew and Brendan Dieck, Elizabeth and William Kelly, Reilly and Molly Steele, and Jack and Alexandra Rieth.
Betty is also survived by her cousins Grace Reilly Conway and Ann Reilly Gervais, both of greater Lowell, Mass., and Drakes Island, Me. She was predeceased by her parents and her cousins Frances Reilly Mack, Peter W. Reilly, and Walter B. Reilly of Mass.; Lawrence K. Reilly of Me.; and Henry T. Reilly of Vt.
Services will be private and held at a later date. Gifts in memory of Elizabeth Reilly Steele may be made to Mary Jacobs Memorial Library (64 Washington St., Rocky Hill, NJ); the Present Day Club (72 Stockton St., Princeton, NJ 08540); or to support research at the Parkinson’s Foundation (200 SE 1st St., Suite 800, Miami, FL 33131). Arrangements are by The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home. https://matherhodge.com.
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Morris Marks
Morris Marks, whose boundless love for his family was returned in full, died Thursday, May 31, 2018 at 94. He was a proud South Philadelphian and first-generation American, the son of Nathan and Tillie Marks, from Kishinev, Moldova. He had four older brothers — Harry, Abe, Dan, and Jack — and his passing marks the end of a generation.
After graduating from South Philadelphia High School for Boys, Morris enlisted in the Army and served in the Signal Corps, repairing code machines. Celebrating V-E Day, he watched Gen. Charles de Gaulle march through Paris from a perch near the Arc de Triomphe. His father died when Morris was serving in Europe, and when he returned to the United States, he became a watch repairman to help support his mother. He spent the next four decades working on Philadelphia’s Jewelers Row.
He had a fantastic stroke of luck when, after moving to a new home in 1952, he found that one of his neighbors was a young teacher named Connie Seidler. Two years later, they were married. They moved to Northeast Philadelphia, where they raised two children, Marilyn and Ted.
After retirement, Morris and Connie moved to a senior-living community in Tamarac, Fla. Morris quickly became active in the community, serving as secretary of the condo board and as a member of the neighborhood-watch program, preventing crime during the hours of 1 to 4 on Sundays. He was the man people called when they needed a ride or when something had to be fixed.
Morris and Connie moved to Princeton in 2005. They celebrated 64 years of marriage April 11 and shared many blessings during their time together: summer vacations in Atlantic City and later in America’s national parks, Alaska, and Hawaii; traveling to Israel, England, and China, where Morris walked on the Great Wall at the age of 83; and especially spending time with their grandchildren. Nothing made Morris happier than hearing about what his grandchildren were learning and experiencing.
Until his last days, Morris was interested in the world around him, reading The New York Times and watching the news on television even though his eyesight had begun to fail. He always loved history, and he showed his command of that subject late in life by shouting out the answers to Jeopardy! questions, often outpacing the contestants. He voted in every election.
Morris is survived by his wife, Connie Seidler Marks; his children, Marilyn Marks Tal and Reli Tal of Princeton, and Ted and Ilene Marks of San Jose, Calif.; his grandchildren, Rinat Tal, Eliana Marks, and Zachary Marks; his sister-in law, Lois Seidler; his cousins, Albert Appel and Carrie Schoenbach; and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services were held June 4, with burial at Princeton Cemetery.
Contributions in his memory may be made to Senior Care Services of N.J., P.O. Box 1517 Princeton, NJ, 08542-1517; the Princeton Senior Resource Center, 45 Stockton St, Princeton, NJ 08540; or a charity of the donor’s choice.
Funeral arrangements by Orland’s Memorial Chapel, 1534 Pennington Road, Ewing Township.
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Janet Easly McGinn
Janet Easly McGinn passed away Sunday, June 3rd, at her home in Princeton Junction.
Born in Barnesboro, Pa. in 1935 to the late John and Kathryn Easly, sister to the late Mary Kay Easly and Joanne Raihall. Janet graduated from Pennsylvania State University and taught English and Religion for over 50 years in the Catholic school system. She was beloved by all the students she touched in her long career.
She is survived by her husband of 57 years Martin W. McGinn, her children Martin, Matthew, Michael, and Gretchen McGinn, her daughters-in-law Elizabeth and Jennifer McGinn, and her grandchildren Madeleine, Clare, Julia, Maeve, and John McGinn.
Viewing will be held at The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Ave. Princeton, NJ 08542 on Thursday, June 7 from 3-6 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, 216 Nassau St. Princeton, NJ 08542 on Friday, June 8 at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Paul’s School, 218 Nassau St. Princeton, NJ 08542.
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Emmi Spies
Emmi Vera Tobias Spies, a longtime resident of Princeton and Kingston, passed away on May 22, 2018. She was 89, and lived a remarkable life.
Born in Stettin, Germany in 1929, to Dr. Walter Tobias and Margarete Freundlich Tobias, she was 10 years old when she fled Germany together with her family. They emigrated to Santiago, Chile, where she was raised and schooled, showing talent in competitive swimming and in creating original fashions. She married Claudio Spies in 1953 and they moved to the United States, where they lived in Cambridge, Mass., Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Swarthmore, Pa. before moving to Princeton in 1970 with their five children, Caterina, Michael, Tatiana, Leah, and Susanna.
Shortly after arriving in Princeton, Emmi began to work supporting young dyslexic children and was one of the original teachers at the Lewis School, where she taught for many years. She took great pride in following the growth and success of so many of her former students. Even following retirement she continued to work with students from the Princeton area schools, and touched the lives of dozens of students and their families. Emmi was also an avid knitter of colorful hats, scarves and sweaters, which will continue to lend warmth and flair to many appreciative friends and family members.
Emmi spent many summers at the beautiful beach in Small Point, Maine, where she enjoyed long walks and many happy memories with family and friends. She was also very much at home in the loving family community of her beloved deceased brother Juan, of Vancouver, Canada.
She is survived by her children Caterina, and her husband Myron Reece, in Glen Ellen, California; Michael and wife Claudia, of New York City; Leah, and husband Alex Winck, of Los Angeles; and Susanna, of Los Angeles. Her beloved daughter Tatiana passed away in 2012. She is also survived by five grandchildren, Jake, Elijah, Ben, Olivia, and Julia, and by her former husband Claudio, who lives in Glen Ellen with Caterina and Myron.
She will be lovingly remembered by her many friends and former students.
Private family services are planned. A memorial service will be held in Princeton for friends and former students on a date to be announced shortly. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Diabetes Association; or the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.
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Memorial Service for James Floyd
A memorial service for James Floyd, Sr. will be held Saturday, June 23, at 11 a.m. at Nassau Presbyterian Church. Floyd, a longtime public servant and former Princeton Township mayor, died May 14 at the age of 96.
Floyd was Princeton’s first African American mayor and was instrumental in getting the Witherspoon-
Jackson neighborhood designated a historic district. He was born in Trenton in 1922 and moved to Princeton in 1946.
The Floyd family welcomes all in the community to attend the service. Nassau Presbyterian Church is
located at 61 Nassau Street.