John T. Ward, 62, of Laurence Harbor died March 28 in New York. Born in Princeton, he was a longtime resident of Plainsboro. A graduate of Rutgers with a degree in computer technology, he received his master’s and doctorate degrees from Virginia Tech
A Boy Scout in Plainsboro for 14 years, he worked for his father on the farm and at Walker Gordon Farm from ages 11 to 26. He went on to work for NASA as a computer technologist for five years, and at AT&T for more than 10 years, where he created the automated phone system. During the last 10 years he studied and performed improv in New York City.
Survivors include his mother, Jean Ward of Virginia; two sisters and brother-in-law, Rose Marie and Jack Bowker of Roosevelt, and Doris Hannah of Virginia; and two brothers and sisters-in-law, William and Deborah Ward, and Robert and Mary Ward, all of Virginia. Donations may be made to All 4 the Dogs Rescue, Box 204, Roosevelt 08555.
Robert Jones, 56, of Jamesburg died March 30 at home. Survivors include a daughter, Melanie Jones of Plainsboro. Donations may be made to the Elks Special Needs Children’s Fund, 74 West Railroad Avenue, Jamesburg 08831.
Samuel E. Campbell Sr., 64, of Hurlock, Maryland died March 30 at home. Survivors include a son and daughter-in-law, Charles Joseph and Amy Campbell of Plainsboro. Donations may be made to Dorchester County Animal Control, c/o Sheriff James Phillips, 829 Fieldcrest Road, Cambridge, MD 21613.
Ronald B. Stephen, 72, of Waretown died at his home on April 3. Survivors include a son, Dave Stephens of West Windsor. Donations may be made to the American Diabetes Association of New Jersey, Center Pointe II, Suite 103, 1160 Route 22 East, Bridgewater 08807.
May A. Keelan, 87, of West Windsor died April 3 at Compassionate Care Hospice. Born in Scotland, she lived in Ewing for 35 years before moving to West Windsor 20 years ago. She retired from Trenton State College in 1991.
Survivors include two daughters and a son-in-law, Kathy and Rick Cave of West Windsor, Christine Young of Ewing; four grandchildren, Jennifer and her husband Jay Thompson, Kerry Young, Robert Cave, and Kelly Cave; and two great-grandchildren, Matthew and Ryan Thompson. Donations may be made to the Twin “W” Rescue Squad, Box 385, Princeton Junction 08550; or Compassionate Care Hospice, 11 Independence Way, Newark, Delaware 19713.
Barbara A. Rivers of North Brunswick died April 5 at RWJUH, New Brunswick. Survivors include son and daughter-in-law, Thomas and Lois James of West Windsor.
Karen Jean Bielicki, 51, of Old Bridge died April 5 at Raritan Bay Medical Center. Survivors include sister and brother-in-law, Diane and Michael Strada of West Windsor. Donations may be made to Arc of Monmouth, WOC, 395 Warburton Place, Long Branch 07740; American Cancer Society, 2600 Route 1, North Brunswick 08902; or Spina Bifida Association, 4590 MacArthur Boulevard NW, Suite 250, Washington, DC 20007.
Margaret Fletcher Pierson, 92, of Princeton died April 5. Survivors include son and daughter-in-law, Peter Kimball and Joan Pierson of West Windsor. A memorial service will be held at Acorn Glen Assisted Living Center, 775 Mount Lucas Road, Princeton, Sunday, May 9, at 2 p.m. Donations may be made to Westerly River Church, 37 Westerly Road, Princeton 08540; or the Deacons’ Fund of the University Baptist Brethren Church, 411 South Burrowes Street, State College, PA 16801.
William F. Mansbery, 53, of Lititz, Pennsylvania, died April 6. A former Plainsboro resident, he was a member of the volunteer fire department. Survivors include his brother and sister-in-law, Thomas and Carol Mansbery of Durham, North Carolina; and two sisters and brother-in-law, Kathleen Mansbery, and Margaret and Kevin Girten, all of Lititz. Donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Delaware Valley Chapter, 399 Market Street, Suite 102, Philadelphia, PA 19106; the American Heart Association, 610 Community Way, Lancaster, PA 17603; or the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, 706 Haddonfield Road, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002.
Vera Mae Scheuring Gilroy, 87, of Cumberland Crossing died at Passavant Hospital on April 7. Survivors include daughter and son-law, Marilyn Gilroy and Arthur Schwartz of West Windsor. Donations may be made to Lymphoma Research or Aseracare Hospice, 15000 Ardmore Boulevard, Suite 501, Pittsburgh, PA 15221.
Gerald Donoher, 75, of West Windsor died April 8. He served as a radar operator with the Air Force and worked for NJ Bell for more than 32 years, retiring as an account executive in 1987.
Survivors include his wife, Judith M. Donoher; his daughter, Felicia Fell of Monmouth Junction; his brothers and their wives, Thomas Donoher of Egg Harbor; Arthur A. McTighe of Hightstown; and Douglas McTighe of Easton Pennsylvania; and his mother-in-law, Mrs. Arthur D. McTighe of West Windsor. Donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Asika Obumselu, 46, of West Windsor died April 8. Funeral service was held at Hughes Funeral Home, Trenton.
Jennifer Lynn Weeks, 56, died April 8 at Hospice Atlanta. Born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, she was raised in Plainsboro and graduated from Princeton High School. She trained at Katherine Gibbs School in New York City and was a vice president at Media Brokers International in Atlanta.
Survivors include her husband, Preston William Huey, Jr. of Atlanta; a brother, Bill Weeks of Brunswick, Georgia; and a sister, Karen Lawrence of Midlothian, Virginia. Donations may be made to Hospice Atlanta, 1244 Park Vista Drive, NE, Atlanta, GA 30319; or to the Piedmont Hospital Oncology Action Fund, Piedmont Hospital Development Office, 1968 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30309.
Kathleen “Kathy” M. Rifkind, 66, of West Windsor died April 8. Raised in Ohio and Florida, she lived in West Windsor since 1974.
Rifkind, instrumental in establishing West Windsor-Plainsboro High School Model United Nations program, held leadership roles with West Windsor Little League, and was a Cub Scout den mother. A title insurance producer, she retired from General Land Abstract/First American Title Insurance Company in 2008.
Survivors include her husband of 48 years, Steven, of West Windsor; her sons and daughters -in-law, Adam and Nicole of Hamilton; Neil of New York City; David and Amy, of Holland, Pennsylvania; her grandchildren, Aurora and Airianna of Hamilton, and Sarah, Samuel, and Elizabeth of Holland, Pennsylvania; her mother, Betty Forrester of West Windsor; her sisters, Cheryl Ethier of Naples, Florida, and Linda Huston of Levittown, Pennsylvania. The funeral is Sunday, April 18, at 10 a.m. at Saul Colonial Funeral Home, 3795 Nottingham Way, Hamilton Square. Burial will follow in Princeton Memorial Park, Robbinsville. Shiva will be observed at the Rifkind home on Sunday to Tuesday, April 18 to 20, from 4 to 8 p.m.
Calvin Z. Yin, 6, of West Windsor died April 9 at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Born in Princeton, he was a lifelong resident of West Windsor and a student at the Joseph F. Cappello School.
Survivors include his parents, John Z. and Li Zhang Yin; and his sister, Cathy Z. Yin. The funeral is Saturday, April 17, at 10:30 a.m. at the Mather-Hodge Funeral Home 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton. Calling hours begin at 9 a.m. at the funeral home.
Adella Irlbeck, 95, died April 10 at the Elms of Cranbury Nursing Home. Survivors include a son and daughter-in-law, Dennis and Marilyn of Plainsboro. Donations may be made to the American Cancer Society or the St. Vincent DePaul Society, c/o Nativity of Our Lord RC Church, Monroe 08831.
Clifford F. Giddings, 73, of West Windsor died April 12 at home. Born in Vermont, he moved to West Windsor in 1975. He was an active volunteer with Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic.
A graduate of Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, Vermont, he received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont and a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, University of Grenoble, France, and the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago. He was reference librarian and bibliographer in historical linguistics at the Newberry Library , and director of library services.with Scott, Foresman and Company, both in Chicago. He was with Albert E. Barrett, Inc. of Trenton, for 22 years, retiring in 1997.
Survivors include his sister Diana L. Giddings of East Dorset, Vermont. Gathering will begin Friday, April 16, 7 p.m. at the M. William Murphy Funeral Home, 1863 Hamilton Avenue, with the service at 8 p.m. Donations may be made to Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, 20 Roszel Road, Princeton 08540.
Frank Crawford, a longtime township business owner and critic of the rundown condition of downtown Princeton Junction, died on March 15.
Crawford, 81, founder and owner of Princeton Microfilm, was a former photographer for both National Geographic and the Air Force, and a real estate investor in West Windsor.
Crawford criticized the boarded up buildings in downtown Princeton Junction in an article in the October 23, 2009 issue of the News. He specifically pointed to the abandoned section of the Ellsworth shopping center down the road from his business, and called for township officials to take action.
An avid tennis player, Crawford served on the board of directors of the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) from 1979 to 1997. He co-owned Princeton Indoor Tennis Center, until it was sold in 2008. He also served on the board of the Princeton Tennis Program.
Predeceased by his wife of 39 years, Ruth Emilia Dallenbach, in 1996, he is survived by their two sons, Mark Franklin and Grant Robert; his wife of nine years, Leslie (Blauth) Crawford; two brothers, Clifford Theodore and Reverend Stanford Rea; a sister, Joan Murray; and a granddaughter.
A memorial service was held April 11 at Nassau Presbyterian Church. Contributions may be made to the Princeton Tennis Program, c/o the Eve Kraft Community Tennis Center, 92 Washington Road, Princeton 08540.
