Paul Sigmund | Town Topics

Obituaries 1/24/18

Paul Sigmund

Paul Sigmund, 53, passed away on January 11 after a long illness. He was living in Riverside, California at the time.

Paul was a native of Princeton, a graduate of Stanford University and Michigan Law School, a banker, lawyer, technology industry executive, and a Freeholder in Mercer County, New Jersey. Survivors in his loving family include his two daughters, two brothers, and his former spouse. He is predeceased by his parents, Paul Sigmund III and Barbara Boggs Sigmund, of Princeton.

Throughout most of his life Paul was a vibrant, joyful person who lived, loved, and connected to others fully. As one cousin put it this week, Paul had a “fierce confidence in life.” He was a surfer and lifeguard and loved the ocean. He collected comic books, music, and books and was widely interested in politics, history, and lively conversation. He believed in the power of putting people together in business deals to build connections and create new vibrancy in the world. And he traveled all over the world and lived and worked in Spain and Chile.

And Paul brought others into his world fully. Everyone who came in contact with Paul came out better for it. His generosity knew no bounds. He had limitless knowledge and charm (and charm enough to make others believe he held knowledge about a number of subjects in which he had little to none). And pushing others to join him in his pursuits brought out the best in them, producing travelers, surfers, and new converts to the music, books, and culture that he loved.

And he loved his family and friends with an energy that could be overpowering.

The latter part of Paul’s life brought an illness that has and is taking the lives of so many and touching every family, proving again that addiction knows no barriers of race, income, ability, or deservedness. It takes indiscriminately, and it took down this man who had so much to live for and so much to give.

In lieu of flowers, Paul’s family asks that contributions be made to Womanspace, Inc., 1530 Brunswick Avenue, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 (womanspace.org).

———

George W. Pitcher

George W. Pitcher, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Princeton University, died peacefully at his home in Princeton on January 12 at the age of 92. He was the author of The Philosophy of Wittgenstein, Berkeley, and A Theory of Perception, as well as the memoir The Dogs Who Came to Stay.

Pitcher was born in West Orange, New Jersey on May 19, 1925, the second son of Edward and Helen Pitcher. Upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1947, he was commissioned as a lieutenant and served three years active duty on ships in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean. He then turned his attention to philosophy, and enrolled as a graduate student at Harvard University. After being recalled to active duty during the Korean Conflict, he returned to Harvard in 1953, where he completed his Ph.D. He subsequently studied under J. L. Austin at Magdalen College, Oxford University, where he began a lifelong friendship with the actor John Gielgud. He joined the faculty of the Department of Philosophy at Princeton University in 1956, where he taught until his retirement in 1981.

Shortly after his move to Princeton, Pitcher made the acquaintance of the composer and music scholar Edward T. Cone, who became his life companion for almost 50 years, until his death in 2004. The two shared a love of classical music, opera, art, travel, and their dogs Lupa, Remus, Cinder, Beata, and Carla. They often opened their house to friends for dinner parties, “given with flourish,” as noted in an article about their lives together in the Trenton Times. Pitcher served from 1992 until his death as a trustee of the Edward T. Cone Foundation, a major benefactor of numerous cultural and educational institutions, including Princeton University, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Princeton Symphony, the D & R Greenway, and the Princeton Festival.

An accomplished pianist, as well as an avid tennis and bridge player, Pitcher was a treasured friend and mentor. In the last decade of his life he gathered around him a circle of friends known as “The Gang,” comprised of graduate students and notable intellectuals. He hosted them weekly for dinner and conversation.

A memorial service in the Princeton University Chapel will take place at 10 a.m. on April 21. Burial in Greensboro, North Carolina, will be private. Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the Princeton Symphony Orchestra.

———

Marie Sturken

Nov. 5, 1921 – Jan. 8, 2018

Marie Sturken, an artist and longtime resident of Princeton, died peacefully at home at the age of 96. She was still creating and exhibiting her art well into her mid-90s.

Born to Susan and Richard Ryan of Stamford, Connecticut, she drew early inspiration from her father, a printer at Condé Nast and a freelance artist for the local paper. After graduating from Sacred Heart Academy, she studied in New York City under well-known magazine illustrator Mario Cooper at Grand Central School of Art and attended Pratt Institute and the Art Students League. She began as a fashion illustrator at McCall’s and the Abraham & Strauss store, and after marrying Robert Sturken, an engineer with DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware, she found her “dream job” as head fashion illustrator for the John Wanamaker department store in Philadelphia.

In 1962 she and Bob and their three children moved to Princeton. After working in oil painting, Marie took up printmaking, joining a group of artists studying under printmaker Judith Brodsky who, as the Queenston Press, created works including the “Woman” portfolio that opened at the New Jersey State Museum in 1979. She began working in monotypes and handmade paper which remained her primary media throughout her career. A founding member of the Princeton Artists Alliance, she taught printmaking and lithography at the Princeton Art Association and handmade paper at the Printmaking Council of New Jersey. A retrospective of her work was held at Rider University in 2015. Her work is in the collections of the New Jersey State Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Newark Library Print Collection, Princeton University, and many others.

Marie was full of life, loved to travel, socialize with others, and learn new things. She was a devoted member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton. She will be missed by many.

Marie was predeceased by her beloved husband Bob. She is survived by her sister Barbara Wild; children Barbara Peterson and husband William, Carl Sturken and wife Cheryl-Anne, Marita Sturken and husband Dana Polan; and grandchildren Kelly Sturken, Leigh Peterson, Kyra Sturken, Moira Peterson, and Leo Polan.

There will be a Memorial Service on Saturday March 10, 2018, at 2 p.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road, followed by a reception at the Nassau Club. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her honor may be made to Goals of Care, www.goalsofcare.org/donate/ and the Arts Council of Princeton, www.artscouncilofprinceton.org/donate.

Family and Colleagues Remember Paul Sigmund As Brilliant and Kind

When he was 12, Paul Sigmund won the Philadelphia auditions for Quiz Kids radio show. Despite this distinction, after which he traveled to Chicago to compete with similarly gifted children from around the country, the young Mr. Sigmund never made his five younger siblings feel he was in any way superior. Mr. Sigmund died Sunday at the age of 85 (see accompanying obituary).

“In spite of his tremendous scholastic achievements, Paul didn’t have any sense of being above everybody,” said his brother Peter Sigmund, on Monday. It is a description echoed by family members, friends, and colleagues of Mr. Sigmund, who began teaching at Princeton University in 1963 and helped found the school’s program in Latin American Studies.

“What impressed me was that he had the finest mind of anyone I’ve ever known, but he never talked down to people,” said Stephen Sigmund, one of Mr. Sigmund’s three sons. “I think that’s something his students always found, and they benefitted from that.”

Author and journalist Cokie Roberts, the sister of Mr. Sigmund’s late wife Barbara Boggs Sigmund, described him as “never overbearing, and a wonderful teacher in both his life and his work.” Barbara Sigmund was the mayor of Princeton Borough from 1983 until her death in 1990.

Anne Reeves of Princeton described Mr. Sigmund as “a very, very dear friend for a very long time. He was a treasure, a fine, modest human being. He was always there for you, always had a good suggestion. And certainly, he was very brilliant.”

Princeton University’s Program in Law and Public Affairs issued a statement calling Mr. Sigmund “a great scholar, favorite teacher, and generous colleague.” Mr. Sigmund attended and contributed to the bi-weekly seminars of the program.

“Moreover, he had a reserved seat at almost all of LAPA’s public events,” the statement reads.К“He willingly agreed to be a guest each year at an LAPA Fellows’ lunch, sharing his incredible knowledge of and personal experiences in Latin America.КPaul welcomed inquiries from Fellows who sought his wisdom on so many subjects.КHe was beloved by generations of students who looked for questions that would afford them the opportunity to meet with him.КPaul’s interests were rich and deep, and even included sharing with us his concerns about the New Orleans Saints football team, no doubt an interest inherited from his late wife’s family.”

Leslie Gerwin, associate director of the program, who co-wrote the statement with LAPA acting director Paul Frymer, elaborated on Tuesday. “I never met anyone who had met Paul who wasn’t influenced by him in a very positive way,” she said. “He had such wide interests. He was both a scholar and a participant in life.”

Steve Sigmund said his father, a longtime resident of Princeton, was devoted to the town. “Princeton was so meaningful to him because he was a teacher throughout his life more than anything else, and this was a warm and welcoming community to him,” he said. “He was so grateful that he could teach to and learn from so many generations of Princeton students. After my mother died, he had a supportive intellectual community to help him.”

“He listened when you talked to him,” said Peter Sigmund of the brother 14 years his senior “He was a really good brother and a very good family person with a wonderful sense of humor. He was always the leader.”