Myrna Kaufman Bearse
Myrna Kaufman Bearse, age 81, a former editor and reporter for Town Topics, died on January 6, 2020, after a short illness.
Myrna was born in Brooklyn, NY. She graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School at age 16. After a brief marriage, she moved to the West Village in New York City. There, she worked as a journalist for various magazines. She recalled interviewing Joan Rivers, the comedian, for a parenting magazine.
She remarried and moved to Princeton with her young family to a house on Leigh Avenue. She continued to work as a freelance journalist while raising her two daughters, both of whom graduated from Princeton High School. She started reporting for Town Topics in the mid 1980s.
She occupied a front window office in the old Town Topics building looking over Nassau Street. She was a fixture at Borough Council, planning, and other government meetings. And if something interesting happened in Princeton between the 1980s and early 2000s, chances are good that she wrote about it. She served briefly as the paper’s editor when ownership transitioned away from the Stuart family, and also became an investor in the paper through Witherspoon Media Group. She lived in the same house on Leigh Avenue until she left Princeton in the early 2010s to be closer to grandchildren in the Seattle area.
The daughter of the late Max Kaufman and Edna Goldstein Kaufman, she is survived by her daughter, Aurora Bearse, and her husband, Ian Crosby, and their two daughters, Sarah and Lilah. Myrna was sadly predeceased by her other daughter, Miriam Bearse, but Miriam’s wife, Karen Fieland, and their daughter, Ariella, survive her.
A memorial service in Princeton is planned for spring 2020. Please contact her daughter via email to express condolences or for information about the memorial service, to myrnamemorial1@gmail.com.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Friendship Circle of WA, www.friendshipcirclewa.org or SAVE of Princeton, NJ, www.savehomelessanimals.org/donate.
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Hon. Mark E. Litowitz
January 10, 1929 — January 9, 2020
The Honorable Mark E. Litowitz died on January 9, 2020 after a brief illness, one day before his 91st birthday. The cause of death was esophageal cancer.
A lifelong resident of the Trenton area, Judge Litowitz was the first child of Carl Litowitz and Anne (Edelman) Litowitz, both of Trenton. He attended Trenton Central High School and Pennington Prep before attending Rutgers University, where he received his undergraduate and law degrees. At Trenton High, he met Selma Urken. They married in 1951 and he remained devoted to her until her death in 2005.
Judge Litowitz was a veteran of the Korean War, where he served in the Army Counterintelligence Corps. Upon his return to the States, he embarked on a distinguished legal career that began at the law firm of Montis and Litowitz. In 1964, he became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Trenton office of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1967, he was appointed Judge of Worker’s Compensation, eventually becoming the Chief Judge of Compensation for the State of New Jersey, a position he held for over two decades. During his tenure, Judge Litowitz presided over and decided thousands of cases involving New Jersey workers and employers while earning the admiration and respect of litigants, their attorneys, and court personnel.
In 1990, then-Governor Florio appointed Judge Litowitz Director of New Jersey’s Department of Worker’s Compensation. In that capacity, Judge Litowitz oversaw the State’s Worker’s Compensation system, one of the largest and most complex in the nation. Following retirement from public service in the mid-nineties, Judge Litowitz returned to private practice, becoming of-counsel to the Princeton law firm Hill, Wallack. Judge Litowitz received numerous honors and awards, including The Jack O’Brien Service Award recognizing his contributions and achievements during his distinguished career.
Throughout his adult life, Judge Litowitz was active in the community, serving on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks and Greenwood House, the Jewish Home for the Aged. In 1998, he and Selma received The State of Israel Independence Issue Award, recognizing their years of service and philanthropy.
Judge Litowitz is survived by children Robert (Mariah) of Washington, D.C., Debra Frank of Yardley, Pa., and Carol Golden (Andrew) of Princeton, N.J.; grandchildren Dana, Drew, Reid, and Selma Litowitz, David and Matthew Frank, and Jackson and Elliott Golden; a sister, Natalie Fulton; and niece Susan Talbot (Richard). A daughter-in-law, Karen Dubin, predeceased him.
Funeral services were held Sunday, January 12, at Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel with burial in Fountain Lawn Memorial Park, Ewing, N.J.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in Judge Litowitz’s memory be made to Greenwood House, 53 Walter Street, Ewing, NJ 08628. www.greenwoodhouse.org.
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Rosemary Catherine Forrey
Rosemary Catherine Forrey of Skillman, NJ, and Avalon, NJ, formerly of Princeton, passed away peacefully on January 11, 2020.
Rosemary was a cherished and loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was predeceased by her loving husband, Robert Carl Forrey, her brother Walter Chatham Jr., and her parents Walter Chatham Sr. and Jane Buckley Chatham. She is survived by her four devoted children, Carole (Chris), Lynne (Eric), John (Debbie), David (Erin); and 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She is also survived by her brother and sister-in-law, John and Barbara Chatham, and many nieces and nephews.
Rosemary traveled the world with her husband, Bob, and family visiting many places including England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Italy, Spain, China, Turkey, Greece, Mexico, Canada, and Hawaii. Rosemary and Bob also enjoyed several sailboat adventures throughout the Caribbean islands. She shared her love of life and music with her grandchildren who affectionately called her “Gigi.” Many happy years were spent at her shore home in Avalon, NJ, where four generations of the family gathered together each summer including special July 4th celebrations. She always lit up the room with her warm smile, beautiful singing voice, and witty sense of humor.
A strong advocate for education and inspiration for her children and grandchildren, she studied at Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital, Immaculata University, and The College of New Jersey. Throughout a career in nursing and volunteer activities, she was always helping others.
Rosemary was very involved in her community and active with the Springdale Golf Club, Dogwood Garden Club, Medical Center at Princeton, Princeton Hospital Fete, Nassau Club, Present Day Club, Yacht Club of Stone Harbor, and as a docent at Morven Museum & Garden in Princeton.
Her family will miss her dearly, and fondly remember her stories, laughter, and loving presence.
Family and friends are invited to a Funeral Mass on Monday, January 20, 2020 at 10 a.m. at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 47 Skillman Road, Skillman, NJ 08558. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in honor of Rosemary to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Philadelphia, PA.