Richard Stoll Armstrong

The Reverend Dr. Richard Stoll Armstrong, 18 days shy of his 95th birthday, died peacefully at his home at the Princeton Windrows in Plainsboro Township, NJ, on March 11, 2019, surrounded by his children and beloved caregiver. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 29, 1924, he was the second child of Elsie Stoll Armstrong and Herbert Eustace Armstrong, Sr.

Dick, as he was known to his family and friends, grew up in Baltimore and attended McDonogh School, a semi-military academy in Owings Mills, Maryland, where his father was head of the upper school mathematics department, athletic director, and head coach of the varsity football, baseball, and ice hockey teams. Dick excelled at sports while at McDonogh, playing for the varsity football, basketball, and baseball teams. He was captain of the baseball team, co-captain of the basketball team, and starting left end on the football team. He was the leading pitcher and center fielder for McDonogh’s 1942 baseball team, which he led in hits, extra base hits, and runs that year.

After graduating from McDonogh in 1942, Dick was awarded a Maryland Regional baseball scholarship to Princeton University, where he majored in economics. He played varsity basketball one season and varsity baseball on five different teams, including two war-time summer seasons, and was the only freshman on the 1943 baseball team. He was awarded the Underclassman Cup in 1943.

Having enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December, 1942, Dick was assigned to a V-12 unit at Princeton as an Apprentice Seaman, and was ordered to the Navy Supply Corps School in the Midshipmen/Officers Course (MOC) at Harvard School of Business Administration in June, 1944. He was commissioned as an Ensign that October, and after graduating from the MOC in May, 1945, was assigned to the USS Chandeleur as Disbursing Officer, and later promoted to Supply Officer. Dick was Honorably Discharged as Lt. (jg) from the U.S. Navy in July, 1946 and in September of that year, re-entered Princeton University as a senior under the G.I. Bill, graduating in June, 1947 (class of 1946). Dick’s senior thesis on “The Unionization of Baseball” was cited in the Senate Antitrust Hearings on Major League Baseball in 1958.

After graduation, Dick signed with the American League’s Philadelphia Athletics as a pitcher and utility infielder and was assigned to their Martinsville, Virginia, farm club in the Carolina League, later moving up to the Lancaster, PA Red Roses in the Interstate League. In September, 1947, Dick was offered and accepted a front office position with the Athletics’ Farm Department.

In January, 1948, Dick married the love of his life, Margaret Frances Childs (Wellesley, 1947) in a ceremony held in the Princeton University Chapel, Princeton, NJ, and together they embarked on his exciting career as a baseball front office executive during which he served as the Business Manager for the minor league Portsmouth Athletics in the Ohio-Indiana League (1948-1949), and then as the first Public Relations Director for two major league clubs, the Philadelphia Athletics (1949-1952) and Baltimore Orioles (1953-1955).

In between his stints with the two clubs, Dick accepted an offer to become Copy and Plans Director of the W. Wallace Orr Advertising Agency in Philadelphia. While with the agency, Dick’s versatile writing talents were used to create presentations for potential clients, plan and produce major advertising programs, write copy for radio and television commercials, newspaper and magazine ads, and write, produce, and participate in singing commercials. He also co-produced and directed a television sports show featuring the National Football League’s Philadelphia Eagles called The Eagles’ Nest.

In October, 1953, Dick was lured back into professional baseball when he had the opportunity to establish the first public relations department for the new American League Baltimore Orioles, where his father had also been appointed Business Manager. Among Dick’s then innovative ideas as the Orioles’ first PR Director were creating the first “live” Major League mascot, “Mr. Oriole,” who made his debut in 1954 (ten years before the creation of the New York Mets’ mascot, “Mr. Met”), and developing the first Major League club fan survey. A permanent “Dick Armstrong Collection” has been established at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, comprising photographs, correspondence, and other memorabilia from both his and his father’s years in professional baseball, as well as an oral history Dick dictated for the Hall.

A dramatic “Damascus Road” experience during spring training in 1955 led Dick to leave his promising career in baseball for the pastoral ministry, a moving first person account of which is told in his book A Sense of Being Called. After graduating from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1958, Dick began his pastorate career, serving as Pastor of both the Oak Lane Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, PA (1958-1968) and Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, IN (1974-1980), and Minister of Worship at the Interdenominational Congregation of Pennswood Village in Newtown, PA (2002-2018), where he was still preaching at the age of 94 up until his retirement due to his cancer diagnosis. In addition, Dick was Interim Preacher for several congregations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and often was a guest preacher at many different churches around the country. Dick’s book The Oak Lane Story and film that followed recount the renewal of the urban Philadelphia church he served that became a racially inclusive congregation through a service-oriented outreach to the community. The story inspired congregations throughout the United States and abroad to view their parish as a mission field.

Having first matriculated as a student, Dick returned to Princeton Theological Seminary twice, first in an administrative capacity as Director of Development and later Vice President (1968-1974) and then in a faculty position as the first occupant of the Ashenfelter Chair of Ministry and Evangelism (1980-1990). He retired with emeritus status in 1990, but continued to be active in various ministries throughout the world. He served in South Africa as a member of the advisory committee for the Centre for Contextual Ministry at Pretoria University, where he assisted with the peaceful transition for black ministers who had limited educational opportunities due to apartheid. Dick also served as vice president and then president of the Academy for Evangelism and Theological Education (1987-1991), as well as editor of the Academy’s journal (1991-1997).

Dick was an exceptionally creative person who wrote poetry and music throughout his life. His song “The Connie Mack Swing,” published in 1950 as part of the year-long Golden Jubilee celebration Dick created to commemorate legendary Philadelphia Athletics’ owner/manager Connie Mack’s 50 years with the club, became the A’s unofficial theme song while the club was still in Philadelphia. Two of Dick’s songs are in Princeton University’s songbook, Carmina Princetonia, and his first hymn, written for a music course he took at Princeton seminary, was published in the United States’ Armed Forces Hymnal. In 1996 he was commissioned to write a song commemorating the 50th reunion of Princeton University’s Bicentennial Class of 1946, which was introduced by the Princeton University Band and sung by the Princeton Nassoons. His song “Tigertown Blues,” written while he was a member of the Nassoons in 1946 and for many years the group’s unofficial theme song, was featured in the 2013 film Admission starring Paul Rudd and Tina Fey.

A prolific writer, Dick authored numerous books and articles drawing upon his varied background as a Navy veteran, major league baseball front office executive, advertising copy and plans director, radio broadcaster, development officer, journal editor, teacher, coach, and pastor. At the time of his death Dick had more than four dozen unfinished book projects, including nearly 3,000 pages of unpublished poetry.

In addition to his awards for athletic and academic achievement during his school and college years, Dick received many other honors as an adult. He was the first recipient of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ (FCA) “Distinguished Service Award” in 1965, and later received the FCA’s “Branch Rickey Memorial Award” (1973) and “Life Trustee Award” (1981). The FCA, founded in 1954, was an organization Dick was instrumental in getting established and was involved with for the rest of his life: he was an officer and member of its National Board of Trustees; established the Philadelphia, Princeton, and Livingston (NJ) chapters of the FCA and assisted in the establishment of chapters in Baltimore and other cities; and served in a variety of capacities for the organization’s annual national conferences from 1958-1974. On four separate occasions Dick was invited by the Board of Trustees to become the President of the FCA; however, work and family obligations prevented Dick from accepting the position each time.

Among Dick’s other major awards and honors were the “Outstanding Service Award” from the Indiana Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews (1980); the Friends of Princeton Baseball’s “Robert L. Peters Award” (1990); the first recipient of the Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education’s “Charles Grandison Finney Award” (1997); the National Council of Presbyterian Men’s “Horizon 21 Award for Leadership Service” (1999); and the Albert Nelson Marquis Who’s Who “Lifetime Achievement Award” (2017).

Dick served on the Board of many not-for-profit, religious, and sports organizations, including the FCA; Princeton Theological Seminary; McDonogh School; American Boychoir School; and the Indianapolis Indians baseball club, the AAA affiliate of the American League Cleveland Indians. He was elected to the Maryland Oldtimers Baseball Association Hall of Fame in 1994, and the McDonogh School Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997.

As busy as he was with his work and volunteer activities, Dick was devoted to his wife and family. He and Margie were married for almost 66 years, prior to her death in 2013. Dick always said that he was in love with Margie “even before I met her,” because she was the “girl of my dreams” who embodied all the qualities he admired and was seeking in a life partner. Together they had five children, three of whom survive, and at the time of his death Dick was the proud and loving grandfather of seven and great-grandfather of six, with a seventh on the way.

Dick and Margie loved to travel, taking their young family all over the United States, and in later years leading groups of family members and friends on many international tours, including to Eastern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and the Holy Land. Margie also accompanied Dick on his speaking and teaching engagements throughout North America and abroad; they were an inseparable pair, joined at the heart and through their deep faith. A poet, pioneer, pastor, preacher, professor, author, singer/songwriter, and a man of many firsts who always tried to do his best in all things, Dick will be missed by family, friends, colleagues, and former students all over the world.

Dick is survived by his son-in-law, Michael Kanarek; his son and daughter-in-law Andrew and Caroline Armstrong; his son and daughter-in-law William (Woody) and Christine Armstrong; his daughter and son-in-law the Reverend Elsie and Thomas Rhodes; his grandson Derek Kanarek and his wife Rebecca; his grandson Graham Kanarek and his wife Marnie; his grandson Orion Kanarek; his granddaughter Alyssa McGlinn and her husband Francis; his granddaughter Olivia Armstrong; his grandson Seth Olsen and his wife Mary; his grandson Samuel Rhodes; his great-grandsons Charlie, Will, Elliott, Gabriel, and Julian; step-great-grandson Chili; and a large extended family of nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was predeceased by his devoted wife of nearly 66 years, Margaret Childs Armstrong, brother Herbert Eustace Armstrong, Jr., daughter Ellen Armstrong Kanarek, and son Richard Stoll Armstrong, Jr.

Arrangements by the Mather Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton, NJ (matherhodge.com). Burial will be private. A memorial service is planned for 1:30 p.m. on May 9, 2019 at Miller Chapel, Princeton Theological Seminary, 64 Mercer Street, Princeton, NJ 08542.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Childs and Armstrong Family Scholarship Fund at Princeton Theological Seminary (ptsem.edu), to the Armstrong Family Scholarship Fund at McDonogh School (mcdonogh.org), or to Seasons Hospice Foundation (seasons.org).

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Catherine C. Blackwell

Catherine C. Blackwell, 106 ½, of Hopewell, NJ, passed away peacefully on February 25, 2019, at Merwick Care & Rehabilitation Center, Plainsboro, NJ.

Mrs. Blackwell was married to Norman P.  Blackwell for 42 years. She met Norman when the taxi she was riding in broke down in front of the Broad Street Garage. Norman was employed at the garage and later purchased it. Mrs. Blackwell worked closely with her husband as a partner in addition to doing the bookkeeping, running errands for her husband like picking up parts in Newark and Staten Island, and she even sold cars. She loved American History, singing in the church choir and the Hopewell Valley Chorus, dogs, driving cars, and wearing hats and gloves. Mrs. Blackwell was a member of the Hopewell Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary for 77 years, and a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.

Predeceased by her parents James and Catherine (Deasy) Cunningham, her husband Norman, and grandchildren, Jon A. Zuccarello and Amy B. Dula, she is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law, Catherine B. and Joseph D. Zuccarello and Dr. Nora L. and Dr. David J. Dula; her grandchildren Michael J. Zuccarello and wife Jeannette M., Kate A. Zuccarello, Dr. Molly E. Guzic and spouse Dr. Nicholas Guzic, Dr. Brian D. Dula and Kelly M. Dula; and great-grandchildren Justin M. and Anthony J. Zuccarello, Ava E. and Emily N. Guzic, and Serena R., Ashton J., Alaina W., and Tristan B. Dula and Special Family Friend Roberta Schott.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, April 5, at Mather Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton, NJ. Visitation at 10 a.m. and service at 11 a.m. Burial will follow at Highland Cemetery, Hopewell, NJ.

Memorial Contributions may be made in her name to Hopewell Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary, P.O. Box 253, Hopewell, NJ 08525 or SAVE Animal Shelter, 1010 Route 601, Skillman, NJ 08558.

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Merlynn Hale Dixon

Merlynn Hale Dixon passed away peacefully on March 13, 2019 at the age of 95, leaving behind her three children, Cynthia, Phyllis, and Kenneth and seven grandchildren, Sarah, Sean, Jessica, Samantha, Rebecca, Madeline, and Lily, and two great-grandchildren, Fiona and Milo.

Born on August 10, 1923, Merlynn Hale Cook grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her beloved mother, Fiona. She attended Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, and after graduation moved to Rochester, N.Y., to work for Kodak as a medical illustrator. There she married and soon thereafter returned to New England living in both Woodstock, Connecticut, and Wayland, Massachusetts, where she raised her three children. In 1970, Merlynn moved to Princeton, New Jersey, where she lived for the next 49 years and where she finished raising her family.

Merlynn spent her summers from her early childhood years to her senior years at her family’s summer home in Wales, Massachusetts, located on a beautiful country lake surrounded by generations of memories of her great-grandparents, grandparents, and her mother. Her children and grandchildren have wonderful memories of time spent with her at Wales, enjoying the summers swimming, boating, playing games, and picnicking. Merlynn was a fabulous cook!

Merlynn was a talented artist, painting countless paintings of her familiar and beautiful surroundings and her beloved pets. During her years living in Princeton Merlynn was involved in many community activities, including as a teacher of yoga at the YMCA, participating in painting classes at the Princeton Senior Resource Center, volunteering at Witherspoon Public Library, and very active in the Trinity Church of Princeton.

We will always remember the sweet companionship Merlynn had throughout her life with her cats. Each one living solo with her for up to 19 years at a time. Sunny, Christie, Lucy, then Tomas.

Merlynn’s last few years were spent living at Stonebridge at Montgomery, where she was lovingly cared for.

A memorial service celebrating her life will be held on Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 11:30 a.m. at Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Street, Princeton.

Extend condolences and share memories at TheKimbleFuneralHome.com.

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Gert Paul Volpp

Gert Paul Volpp of Princeton, 88, died February 8 in Philadelphia.

Born in Lörrach, Germany, in July 1930, he was the second son of the late Anna Zeller and Otto Volpp. He received his Ph.D. degree summa cum laude from the University of Basel with a doctoral thesis on the structure of the African arrow poison ouabagenin (“Zur Konstitution des Ouabeginins”) under the direction of Nobel Laureate Thaddeus Reichstein. He arrived in the U.S. in 1958 to begin a five-year postdoctoral fellowship in chemistry at Harvard University, where he engaged in a total synthesis of colchicine with Nobel Laureate Robert Burns Woodward. At Harvard he met Ching Yuan, a postdoctoral fellow working with Nobel Laureate Konrad Bloch. The two were married in Oxford, England, where Ching, originally from Beijing, had a second postdoctoral fellowship with Sir Ewart Jones. They settled in Princeton in 1963, where they raised four children. Gert lived in Princeton for 55 years.

In 1963 Gert began a 38-year career at FMC Corporation, serving as Director of Commercial Development, Research and Development, Agricultural Products Group from 1978-2001. He traveled worldwide negotiating contracts with research laboratories for insecticide research and development. Initially focused on Japan and Western Europe, he extended the purview of FMC’s negotiations to Australia, China, Korea, India, and Eastern Europe. He held patents in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, France, Spain. Switzerland, Uruguay, the United Kingdom, Belgium, South Africa, the Philippines, Romania, and the Soviet Union.

He was predeceased by his wife Ching, and is survived by a brother, Kurt Volpp of Mosbach, Germany; a sister, Helga Reichel Kessler of Rheinfelden, Germany; three daughters, Sophie and Leti of Berkeley, Calif., and Serena of New York City; a son, Kevin, of Wynnewood, Pa.; and seven grandchildren, Daniel, Anna, Thea, Julia, Daphne, Nico, and Liliana.

Gert was an avid hiker, and loved hiking in the Alps. He spent his 80th birthday hiking in Yosemite. Until the birth of his children, he enjoyed piloting both small planes (the Cessna 182) and gliders. For his 86th birthday, he went paragliding, jumping from the Elfer mountain near Innsbruck, Austria. He was also an excellent storyteller, and a member of the memoir writing group at the Princeton Senior Resource Center, where he began his memoir, Opa Stories.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Friends of Herrontown Woods (fohw.org) in his memory.

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Laura Kruskal

Laura Kruskal, renowned and beloved creator and teacher of origami, died on February 6, 2019 at the age of 95. Laura was a sparkling personality, who drew people to her and impressed them with her unique charm. She wrote and sang origami songs, like the “International Origami Anthem,” and performed origami raps as she taught her original paper fold models, whether to students in schools and libraries or to origami enthusiasts at conventions.

Laura received her undergraduate degree with a biology major and chemistry minor from Hunter College, and her master’s degree from New York University. She was introduced to origami by her mother-in-law, the late Lillian Oppenheimer, who popularized origami in the United States. It was also through Lillian that Laura was introduced to her husband of 56 years, the late Martin David Kruskal.

Laura literally thought outside of the box, as she created origami models which could be folded from a rectangle rather than from the traditional square. She started this technique as she traveled the world, often to exotic places, with Martin David, a world-famous mathematician and physicist. It wasn’t always easy to find origami paper, but letter-sized computer paper was plentiful, and her creations worked equally well with pages from magazines, which made them very accessible. Laura taught her original origami models for years in the Princeton area and around the world, not only at origami conventions, libraries, and schools, but also in prisons, in restaurants, in buses, and anywhere where people were intrigued by her and her art.

Laura is survived by her three children, Karen Kruskal (and daughter-in-law, Sheera Strick), Kerry Kruskal, and Clyde Kruskal; five grandchildren, David Strick (and his wife, Jennifer Levy), Emma Kruskal, Alexander Kruskal, Justin Kruskal, and Rebecca Kruskal; and two great grandchildren, Ryan Strick and Lyla Strick.

(Photograph by Andrew Cribb)

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Deacon Michael David Ross, Ph.D.

Deacon Michael David Ross, Ph.D., 78, a former Professor and Academic Dean at the Pontifical College Josephinum, died Sunday evening, March 3, 2019, while hospitalized in Honolulu, Hawaii, of kidney failure and complications from severe pancreatitis. A sign in his room asked that he be addressed as “Deacon Mike,” reflecting his commitment to and love for the Church.

Deacon Mike was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1940, to Sidney Ross and Lee (Genud) Ross, both first-generation Americans of Jewish descent. As members of the Communist Party, his parents worked actively with poor and marginalized people for democracy and justice, providing role models for their children’s lifetimes of social justice service.

The Ross family moved to Baldwin, Long Island, in 1948, where Michael graduated high school. He then attended Antioch College, class of 1963, where he majored in and taught history at an Antioch summer program. Following graduation, he attended Columbia University, where he earned a Ph.D. in political science, and went on to teach and serve as Assistant Dean at Columbia College.

In college and during a year abroad at Leeds University in England, Michael was a leader in civil rights activities, helping to integrate a barbershop in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and to desegregate public accommodations in both countries. While studying and teaching, he also participated in community programs at a drug rehabilitation program for young adults in New York City.

Michael transitioned to working as an administrator for several psychiatric hospitals in New York and New Jersey. He was the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Ancora Psychiatric Hospital and the CEO of both Greystone and Marlboro Hospitals in New Jersey, from 1981–1994. 

In 1990, Michael converted to Catholicism and returned to school to enrich his education and capacity for religious service. He was ordained as a Deacon in the Church on May 14, 1994, and served diaconal ministry at St. Paul’s Church, Princeton, N.J. (1994–2003).

In 2003, he earned a second Ph.D., in theology from the Catholic University of America.In 2003, Deacon Mike moved to Columbus, Ohio, to become a systematic theology professor at the Pontifical College Josephinum. He was later appointed Josephinum’s Academic Dean and then its Provost. While in Columbus, he served at St. Mary Parish, Columbus (2003–2007) and St. Joan of Arc Parish, Powell (2007–2014). After retirement from the college, he remained active with the Josephinum Distance Learning Program, which he had founded in 2008.

Deacon Mike and his wife, Betty, moved to Kona, Hawaii, in 2014, where he served as the Coordinator of Spiritual Formation for the Deacon Program of the Diocese of Honolulu, and an instructor and advisor for the Office of Permanent Deacon Formation. During this time, he also served as the President of the Board of Directors of West Hawaii Habitat for Humanity. He was actively serving in ministry at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Kona at the time of his death.

Deacon Mike is survived by his wife of over 45 years, Betty David Ross; his beloved son, Damon Ross; his first wife and Damon’s birth mother, Jean Ross; and Jean’s husband, John Womack; his daughter-in-law, Cylin; his grandson, August; his sister, Randy Ross; his nieces, Tara and Shivani Ganguly; his grand-nephew, Sidney Roth-Ganguly; and his godchildren, Yvette Minear, her husband, Josh, and Michael “Mowgli” Bunce. His energy, kindness and wit, and his example of scholarship, service, and love of family and community, continue to live on in those who survive him, and inspire those who have been privileged to know him. We will never forget him.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, March 30, 2019, at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. Visitation at 9 a.m., Mass at 10 a.m., and reception at 11 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the following organizations that Michael was deeply involved in: The local chapter of Habitat for Humanity in Kailua Kona, PO Box 4619, Kailua Kona, HI 96745; or St. Michael’s Catholic Church, 75-5769 Ali’I Drive, Kailua Kona, HI 96740, in memo: debt reduction.

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Dr. Thomas John “Jack” McNeill

Dr. Thomas John “Jack” McNeill, D.D.S., at 84 years passed peacefully March 12, 2019 in Princeton Hospital hospice. He will be forever adored by his wife Peggy “My Bride” married 60 years; son Keith, wife Toffee Albina, their children Claire and Ross; daughter Karin, husband Benjamin Bashore, Ben’s son Thomas; siblings William McNeill, Samuel McNeill (passed 2016), Kathleen Coffman, and their families; Peggy’s brother Robert Davis and family; Peggy’s sister Lynn Davis; extended family across the U.S., Ireland, England, and Australia; plus friends from his dental practice and sports activities.

Jack was born in July 1934 to John and May McNeill who immigrated from Ireland in the late 1920s. Raised in Gloucester, New Jersey, he graduated from Gloucester High School, Ursinus College, and University of Pennsylvania School of Dentistry. Jack served 11 years in the U.S. Army. As Lieutenant Colonel in Vietnam 1969-1970 he ran a dental MASH unit outside Saigon and joined helicopter missions retrieving soldiers injured in jungle combat.

The family moved to Princeton in 1970, where Jack was a Princeton Dental Group partner and New Jersey Dental Association officer. Jack drew respect as an excellent dentist graced with a gentle touch. In the tradition of a family doctor, he ensured his patients’ comfort 24/7.

Jack’s easy warmth, humility, generosity, and dry humor charmed all he met. Socializing, outdoor play, and a deep appreciation of nature kept Jack vibrant. A trickster, Jack wound jolly tales. He eagerly shared life’s joys with his children and especially his three grandchildren. Quite an athlete throughout life, Jack enjoyed all variety of sports with a jaunty, competitive spirit. He treasured biking with a buddy to the D&R Canal towpath and lazing along its banks, #1 hoagie and magazine in-hand. He was doe-eyed over Karin’s lakeside forest home in Vermont. Greathearted with time and strength, Jack led countless moving days when his parents and next generation changed residences. At home, Jack tended his yard in any weather, ready to chat with neighbors passing the yard edge along a historic shortcut between streets. Through Jack’s stewardship and neighbors’ efforts the path is now an official Town right-of-way. In commemoration, family and neighbors have named the path “Jack’s Peaceful Passage.”

Celebrate Jack’s life on Tuesday March 26, 5-8 p.m. at Mountain Lakes House located at 57 Mountain Avenue, Princeton, NJ. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the D&R Greenway Land Trust.

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Patricia Rasche McPherson

Patricia Rasche McPherson, a resident of Princeton for 56 years, died peacefully in her sleep on March 16, 2019, at Brandywine Assisted Living in Pennington, New Jersey.  Born in St. Peter, Minnesota on September 2, 1936, Pat graduated from Northwestern School of Nursing in Minneapolis in 1957 and began a career as a registered nurse at the St. Peter State Hospital the same year.  In 1958 she moved with her husband James McPherson to Baltimore, where she worked as a research assistant in the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital while her husband pursued graduate study at Johns Hopkins University. In 1962 she came to Princeton, where Jim taught history at the university and she served as director of Princeton Homemakers Services and subsequently worked as a nurse at New Jersey Neuropsychiatric Hospital and Carrier Clinic. 

Sensitive to human needs and dedicated to a life of service, she was also a deacon and elder at Nassau Presbyterian Church and originated there the monthly hunger offering which has helped feed hungry people in many lands for more than 40 years.

Pat is survived by her husband, a brother William Rasche, a daughter Jenny Long, and three grandchildren: Gwynne, James, and Anne.

A memorial service to celebrate Pat’s life will take place at 11 a.m. April 13 at Pennington Presbyterian Church, 13 South Main Street.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Princeton Hospice, 88 Princeton-Hightstown Road, Princeton Junction, NJ 08550. Arrangements are by the Wilson-Apple Funeral Home, 2560 Pennington Road, Pennington. Condolences are welcome at www.wilsonapple.com.