James J. Ruch Jr., 84, of Harwich, Massachusetts died February 3. He was a resident of West Windsor for 28 years and a parishioner of St. David the King Church. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was raised on Long Island, New York. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he was a pilot with the Army Air Force and worked in industrial sales and market research.
Survivors include his children Frannie of New York, Pat and Al Cerkan of Illinois, Aline Frank of Pennsylvania, Jim and Lori of Montana, John and Lisa of Robbinsville; and Katie and Eric Krathwohl, Marylou and Tim Frey, and Sue and Bill Barber of Massachusetts; and 18 grandchildren.
Donations may be made to Autism Speaks, 5455 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 2250, Los Angeles, CA 90036, or Our Lady of the Cape Haitian Fund, 468 Stony Brook Road, Brewster, MA 02631.
Carolyn E. DeTurk, 57, died February 19, at the Pavilions at Forrestal Health and Rehab Center in Plainsboro. Born in New Brunswick, she was a lifelong North Brunswick resident. Survivors include her husband Ralph E. DeTurk; two sons, Kyle DeTurk and his fiancee Laura Novak of East Windsor, and Eric DeTurk of Springfield, Virginia; a sister Linda Fabricatore of Ocala, Florida; and two brothers, John R. “Bobby” Toth of Ocala, Florida, and Michael Toth of North Brunswick. Donations may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, 26 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10004 or www.jdrf.org.
Margaret E. Chamberlain, 88, of Florence died February 19 in Virtua Memorial Hospital, Mount Holly. Born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, she lived in Princeton Junction for 51 years before moving to Florence in 1998.
Survivors include son and daughter-in-law Roger G. and Shirley Chamberlain of Florence; daughter and son-in-law Lois and Bruce Smith of West Windsor; daughter-in-law Sandra Chamberlain of Auburn, Maine; grandchildren Erica and Grant Chamberlain of Maine, Richard and Rose Smith of West Windsor, and Robin Smith of Plainsboro; sister Beatrice Breech of Levittown, Pennsylvania; brother Clarence Chapman of Shamokin, Pennsylvania; step-grandchildren Amy and Steve Muchowski and Samuel J. Jr. and Sonya Cubberley; and four step-great-grandchildren. Donations may be sent to the American Diabetes Association, 1701 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311.
Lee Kheng Tay of West Windsor died February 21 at home. Born in Penang, Malaysia, he received his bachelor of science degree at Singapore University. He immigrated to the United States in 1968 and received his master’s of science and doctorate in medicinal chemistry from the University of Michigan. Tay worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb from 1995 to 2008 on the development of many therapeutic medications.
Survivors include his wife, Marissa Munda-Tay; his daughters, Yen Tay and Lian Tay, and his dog, Maya. Donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 (www.stjude.org), or the American Cancer Society, Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123 (www.cancer.org).
Peter Lee, 60, and Nicholas Peter Lee, 21, of Old Bridge died February 20 in a house fire. Survivors include brother and uncle, Allen Lee of West Windsor. Donations may be made to the National Alliance for Autism Research at www.autismspeaks.com.
John J. Mitchell, 92, of Hightstown, died February 20, in Meadow Lakes Retirement community. Survivors include his wife, Lila J. Mitchell; his daughter and son-in-law, Peggy and David Redman of West Windsor; and grandchildren Janet and Ben Redman. The funeral will be held at the Fishkill Methodist Church on Saturday, March 13. Donations may be made to the Fishkill Rotary Club or Johns Hopkins University.
Catherine B. Niedzinski, 57, of West Windsor died February 22 at St. Francis Medical Center. Born in Jersey City, she moved to West Windsor about four years ago.
Survivors include two daughters and sons-in-law, Danielle and Bradley Gartz of East Windsor, and Carolyn and John McCoy of Falls Church, Virginia.; one son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Patricia Niedzinski of Hopatcong; two brothers and one sister-in-law, Charles Shepherd of Kearny, and James and Joan Shepherd of Marlton; three grandchildren, Lindsey Gartz, Tyler Gartz, and Brandon Niedzinski. Donations may be made to the National Kidney Foundation, 30 East 33rd Street, New York, NY 10016.
Leonard A. Kozlowski, 82, of Woodbridge died February 22, at Hospice House, in Florida. Survivors include son and daughter-in-law, Richard M. and Elaine Kozlowski of West Windsor. Donations may be made to the Cancer Society, 2600 Route 1, North Brunswick 08902 or to Special Olympics New Jersey, 3 Princess Road, Lawrenceville 08648.
Ralph Edward Howell, 57, of Marietta, Georgia, died February 23. Survivors include his daughter Emily of West Windsor. Donations may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Marietta or the Marietta Museum of History.
Norman J. O’Brien, 80, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, died March 2. Survivors include daughter and son-in-law, Kathy and John Farrell of West Windsor. Donations may be made to Mesilla Valley Hospice, 299 East Montana Avenue, Las Cruces, NM 88005.
