Edward Lewis Gibson

On Tuesday, January 6, 2015, Edward Lewis Gibson, Sr., M.D. passed away at the age of 82. He was surrounded by family and had recently been in touch with many colleagues and friends.

Born June 6, 1932, Dr. Gibson grew up in Chicago, Ill. He was the son of Mildred M. and Harry H. C. Gibson, an insurance executive, attorney and member of the Chicago Bar Association. He was also the grandson of Truman K. “TK” Gibson, Sr., who was a graduate of Harvard Business School, founder of the Supreme Life Insurance Company of America, mentor to John Johnson of Johnson Publishing, and an early investor in Johnson Products and Ebony/Jet publications. TK maintained a close friendship with W.E.B. DuBois as part of a well-established, but at that time thinly publicized population of well-educated, accomplished African-American leaders dubbed the “Talented Tenth” by Dr. DuBois.

Dr. Gibson studied chemistry at the University of Illinois, earning a Bachelor’s of Science in 1953. He went on to Howard Medical School, graduating in 1957. Following medical school, Dr. Gibson served in the United States Air Force as a Captain and Flight Surgeon. Upon fulfilling his service requirements and receiving an honorable discharge, Dr. Gibson was selected to join Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons as associate professor of anesthesiology. At Columbia and in collaboration with several colleagues, Dr. Gibson conducted research on blood-gas chemistry and anesthetics helping to improve the efficacy of anesthetic compounds.

From Columbia, Dr. Gibson was selected to join the department of anesthesiology at The Medical Center of Princeton moving there with his family in 1967. Within a year he was elevated to department chairman. He was the first African American physician to join the Medical Center’s staff. Starting with a team of nurse anesthetists and one anesthesiologist, Dr. Gibson built the department into a full-fledged state-of-the-art anesthesiology facility, including selection and recruitment of numerous physicians. Additionally, Dr. Gibson was instrumental in establishing and developing The Medical Center’s surgery center.

Along the way, Dr. Gibson mentored several junior physicians, staff, and colleagues, many of whom continue to speak favorably about their early career experiences under his leadership. He also earned the respect not only of his physician colleagues by continuing to share equally in emergency call rotation throughout his career, but he was widely respected as a friendly and accessible physician to members of the broader hospital staff and medical community. In Princeton and neighboring communities, too, Dr. Gibson developed a reputation and rapport with Princeton-area first responders, frequently personally seeing to and monitoring their medical care. Upon his retirement in November 2002, Dr. Gibson continued to remain involved with the Medical Center, attending its Board meetings and advising the next generation of anesthesiology department leadership.

Among the signature accomplishments of Dr. Gibson’s career, perhaps the most notable is his professional legacy. Dr. Gibson created a first-rate department of anesthesiology at a regional medical center in a community that was initially not always that welcoming to its hospital’s first African American physician. Through competence, hard work, commitment, and integrity, he demonstrated not only that it could be done, but that it could be done well, with distinction. In doing so, Dr. Gibson bore out the dream and claim of his grandfather, T.K., Dr. Dubois, and his parents that talent of any color, race, creed or hue could assume its rightful place of leadership in American life, and so set a standard for others to follow.

In his private life, Dr. Gibson cultivated a variety of interests. Among them he studied the German language, enjoyed traveling and took numerous trips, both domestic and abroad with his wife, Nannette. A lifelong animal lover and outdoorsmen, Dr. Gibson was known to maintain a wide variety of pet animals, and to enjoy camping, hiking, and deep-sea fishing. He also loved music from various genres including jazz, opera, classical, and pop. And, he liked to cook. A self-described “foodie,” any and all fortunate enough to sample Dr. Gibson’s cooking will know that his special insights into chemistry informed his talent for cooking. From scrambled eggs to seafood paella to gumbo to turkey soup to beef tenderloin, many can recall the subtlety, uniqueness of flavors, and wonderful combinations with which he infused each creation.

It may be no surprise to know that, subsequent to medical school, Dr. Gibson enrolled in cooking school. In contrast, it may surprise many who knew him to learn that Dr. Gibson, ever curious about and engaged in the world around him, earned a lay ministry degree through correspondence with the University of the South.

In retirement, Dr. Gibson volunteered with Master Gardeners of New Jersey, offering advice and expertise to others who shared his passion for cultivating a variety of decorative and edible plants. He also literally lent his voice to Recording for the Blind by helping to create audiobooks for the visually impaired. Additionally, he was a member of Sigma Pi Phi, Mu Boulé Chapter.

Dr. Gibson is survived by his wife of 58 years, Nannette, his three children, a son-in-law, and three grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his memory to The Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 529, Princeton, NJ 08542-0529 and The Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., 40 Rector Street, 5th floor, New York, NY 10006.

A memorial service in honor of Dr. Gibson will be held on March 28, 2015 at 2 p.m. EDT at Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Street, Princeton, phone (609) 924-2277. Friends, family, colleagues and other well-wishers can send condolences, request further information or RSVP to ELGsrMemorial@gmail.com.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Mather-Hodge Funeral Home of Princeton.

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Marta Sebor

Marta Sebor passed away peacefully at home on February 28, 2015 at the age of 93. Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1921, she lived in Princeton for over 25 years, the last 15 of which she spent happily at The Windrows retirement community.

Her early years before World War II were filled with happiness, surrounded by a large extended family. During the war she worked for Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat, typing false passports in order to help save the lives of thousands of Hungarian Jews. Marta and her immediate family spent the last two years of the war in hiding, managing to avoid being caught and sent to concentration camps, unlike so many family members and friends she knew. During the war she also met her husband Jan Sebor, a film and stage actor from Czechoslovakia.

Following the war, Marta and her family settled in Israel for seven years, where she opened a cosmetics studio, before coming to the United States. Marta enjoyed her later years in Princeton, where she had many wonderful friendships at the Windrows, and spent considerable time with her beloved grandchildren. Her daughter Ann Mantell, son-in-law Michael Mantell, and her grandchildren Becky Mantell and Matt Mantell, survive her. Donations in Marta’s name may be made to the U.S. Holocaust Museum or JNF-Israel.

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Cyril Maurice Franks

Cyril Maurice Franks, 91, of Bloomington, Indiana died Monday, February 23, 2015 in Bloomington Hospital. Dr. Franks was born in Neath, Wales, United Kingdom. Prior to his arrival in Bloomington, Dr. Franks lived for 52 years in Princeton. In addition to being a distinguished faculty member in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University, until 1991, he spent his professional career promoting Behavior Therapy. He was a founding member and first president of the American Association of Behavioral Therapy and founding editor of the journal Behavior Therapy, as well as editor of Child and Family Behavior Therapy until 2013. Dr. Franks was the author of several hundred articles, book chapters, and professional texts. For many years he served as program chairperson of the NJ Psychological Association and of the Pavlovian Society of North America. His interests included the MMPI, executive selection and psychological evaluation in general, and the conceptual/philosophical foundations of behavior therapy. He served many professional associations including the New Jersey Psychological Association and the British Psychological Association. Dr. Franks was a licensed practicing psychologist in New Jersey and consulted with patients at Carrier Clinic.

He was predeceased by his father and mother Harry and Celia Franks, and a brother Ronald.

Cyril met the love of his life, Violet, at a Hillel dinner in Minnesota in 1953. They met and married in the span of weeks. He whisked away his American bride to London, where they began their careers and their family. They travelled the world visiting and revisiting family and friends and professional colleagues. In addition to Violet, he is survived by one son, Steven Franks, his wife Karen and their children; Julia of Coral Gables, Florida; Elisabeth of Edinburgh, Scotland; and David Franks of Bloomington, Indiana; as well as one daughter, Sharrin Franks Vernall and her two children, Brendon Liam Miles and Emily Sage Vernall of Auckland, New Zealand.

A brief service was held at Beth Shalom, Bloomington, Indiana on Thursday, February 26, 2015 followed by interment. A memorial service will be held at the Princeton Jewish Center, 435 Nassau Street at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 15, 2015.

Donations may be made in his memory to the American Psychological Foundation, 750 First Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002 or online at www.apa.org/APF, Cyril and Violet Franks research fund for stigma in mental illness.

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Theodore G. Kane

Ted Kane passed away on February 23, 2015, at Exeter Hospital in Exeter, New Hampshire, with his family by his side. He was 90 years old.

Ted was the son of J. Sperry Kane and Regina A. Kane of Greenwich, Connecticut and East Dorset, Vermont. He is survived by his children, Theodore Gibbs Kane, Jr., Richard Kane, and Katherine Blaxter, eight grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. Carroll O’Brien Kane, his beloved spouse of 67 years, died in 2013.

Ted attended Groton School, Harvard College (pre-war), Princeton University (post-war), and Stonier Graduate School of Business. During World War II, he served aboard an LST in the Allied invasion of Normandy. He rowed on the Ivy Champion 1948 Princeton Lightweight Crew.

Ted and Carroll lived in Princeton, New Jersey, Sewickley Pennsylvania, and Exeter, New Hampshire, and spent happy summers on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, surrounded by family and friends. Ted was a member of Beden’s Brook, Allegheny, Edgartown and Farm Neck golf clubs.

His 50-year career in trust banking included the Chase Manhattan Bank, Stuyvesant Asset Management, and Pittsburgh National Bank, and he served as treasurer to many organizations, including Colonial Club and Trinity Counseling Service.

Ted and Carroll enjoyed travel with family, friends, and classmates, and Ted was at his happiest when planning the next trip.

A memorial service will be held on Chappaquiddick Island this summer.

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Mildred Coyner

Mildred Emile Coyner passed away on March 6, 2015, at her home in Princeton, New Jersey, surrounded by her loving family. She was 92 years old. She was known and loved for her contributions to her communities, her faithfulness to her church, her loyalty to her friends, and most significantly for her love of her family. Daughter of Jacob and Matilda Grzenda, she was born in Trenton, New Jersey, one of five sisters. For 38 years she was the beloved wife of Harold Frederick Coyner, who predeceased her in 1978.

Mildred made an early mark with her dramatic skills at Trenton High School. She met her soulmate Harold at a church social, and they married in 1940. As a housewife and mother in Yardley, Pennsylvania, Mildred was an endlessly creative member of the New Hope Craft Guild, always experimenting with interesting new genres. She was a designer and creator of clothing for her 4 daughters. Flower arranging was a special passion, and for many years she worked as a wedding and floral consultant.

In 1979, she moved to New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where she became deeply involved in the new Atlantic Center for the Arts as a founder and first chairman of the volunteers, a member of the board, and a tireless fundraiser. She was recognized there with a walkway and the children’s art program named in her honor. She was a loyal volunteer at Fish Memorial Hospital in New Smyrna Beach, receiving several awards for her work. Mildred was endlessly enthusiastic about life, and about the arts in particular, always eager to see what new thing was being created by talented people, no matter how unconventional. Mildred’s great love of adventure extended to her many trips with friends to Europe and the Far East. Moving back to Princeton in 1999, she became involved in local activities, especially at McCarter Theater, where she and her son Robert served as volunteers.

With Harold, she was a founding member of Resurrection Lutheran Church in Yardley. In Princeton, she became a member of the spiritual community of Lutheran Church of the Messiah, where she most recently was an active knitter in Messiah’s Mantles, who create prayer shawls for people in need. Her deep faith was her lodestar, and was her comfort and her hope through the challenges of life.

She leaves her five children, Diana Charnok of Lyme, Connecticut; Cheryl Evans of Princeton; Barbara Marshall of Pawley’s Island, South Carolina; Alison Howard of Lambertville; and Robert Coyner of Princeton; 6 grandchildren; and 9 great-grandchildren.

A celebration of Mildred’s life was held at Lutheran Church of the Messiah in Princeton on Monday, March 9, 2015. Memorial contributions may be made to the Mildred Coyner Scholarship for the Children’s Art Program at the Atlantic Center of the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida (www.atlantic
centerforthearts.org); the National Alliance of Mental Illness (www.nami.org); or the Lutheran Church of the Messiah in Princeton.

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Lorraine Potent Woolston

Lorraine Potent Woolston, 78, of Princeton, died peacefully from the final stage of Alzheimer’s on March 3, 2015 at Arden Courts of Yardley, Pa. Born in Trenton, Lorraine had been a Princeton resident since 1960.

She was a loving wife (57 years), mother, sister, grandmother, and friend to all who knew her. Among her many passions, she was an avid gardener, splendid cook, music enthusiast, and lover of the outdoors, particularly on Moosehead Lake, Maine where she spent her summers for the last twenty plus years and always enjoyed the sounds of the loons on the lake. She taught her grandchildren how to make the sound of the loon. She enjoyed helping others through her work at the Princeton Public Library in charge of Interlibrary Loans, and as a volunteer leader with the Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts. She especially enjoyed reading to her grandchildren.

The daughter of the late Elmer E. Potent and the late Wilhelmina P. Potent, she was pre-deceased by her son Jonathan R. Woolston. She is survived by her husband J. Rogers Woolston of Princeton; her son Japhet P. Woolston and his wife Zoe of Heinsberg, Germany; her daughter Cynthia W. Maltenfort and her husband Andrew of Burke, Va.; her daughter-in-law Amy S. Woolston of Madison, S.Dak.; and her daughter Gail W. Wilkinson and her husband Bruce of Williamsburg, Va. She is also survived by her brother Victor Jay Potent and his wife Margaret of Middletown, Del. and by her sisters-in-law Eleanor Potent and Charlotte Potent of Hamilton and Columbus respectively.

In addition she is survived by her nine grandchildren: Emma, Nicholas, and Julia Woolston; Alex and Martin Maltenfort; Timothy J. Woolston and Kaitlin Kahn; and Natalie and Alyson Wilkinson, plus several nieces and nephews. She will be missed by her loving beagle Sadie.

Burial in the Ewing Church Cemetery will be private. A memorial service for family and friends will be held at The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, Route 206 and Cherry Hill Road, Princeton on Saturday, April 18, 2015 at 11 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 196 Princeton Hightstown Road #11, Princeton Junction, NJ 08550 — (alzfdn.org.) or to Heartland Hospice Memorial Fund, 333 North Summit Street, Toledo, Ohio 43604 (hospicefund@hcrgives.org).

Arrangements are under the supervision of Kimble Funeral Home in Princeton.

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Harry C. Mernagh

Harry C. Mernagh, 92, of Princeton died Friday, February 27, 2015 at the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro.

Born in Akron, Ohio, in 1922, Harry had resided in Princeton since 1948. He received his BM degree from Westminster Choir College in Princeton. He sang for two years with the Westminster traveling choir under Dr. John Finley Williamson and he sang with Pro Musica for several years and was a member of Princeton Lodge #38 F&AM. Harry retired from Educational Testing Service (ETS) in 1987. Harry was a veteran of World War II, serving first with 83rd Infantry Division and then with 15th Air Force in Italy.

Son of the late Harry and Beryl (Kirkland) Mernagh, brother of the late Marian Dement and Ralph Smith, he is survived by his wife Myra (they were married in 1945); his daughters Janet Bancroft and husband Robert, Nancy Mertz and husband Gary, and Joanne O’Brien and husband Bob; four grandchildren Heidi Loforese and husband Martino, Shannon Gilkey and husband Brian, Brian Mertz and wife Genesis, Neva Orlando and husband Bill; and seven great-grandchildren Michael, Kayla, Tyler, Jordin, Jameson, Mara, and Domenica.

Harry and Myra shared a wonderful life with family and friends and just being together.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 14, 2015 at All Saints Church, 16 All Saints Road in Princeton.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to All Saints Church or The Salvation Army.

Arrangements are under the direction of The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home of Princeton.

A family burial will be in the Princeton Cemetery.

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