#b#Engagement#/b#
Conor McManus and Jennifer Diliddo are planning a spring wedding.
The prospective bridegroom is the son of Patricia and Dennis McManus of West Windsor. He graduated from Bergen Catholic High School in 2003 and received a bachelor’s degree in accountancy and finance from Providence College in 2007. He is pursuing his M.B.A. in international business at Seton Hall University and works at PwC LLP.
The future bride is the daughter of Diana and Michael DiLiddo of Fishkill, New York. A graduate of State University of New York Albany in 2007, she received a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management. She is a regional account manager with Tate & Lyle Custom Ingredients.
#b#Wedding#/b#
Leela Sarathy and David William Smith were married September 2 at the Museum of Science in Boston. Rabbi David Kudan officiated.
A 2000 graduate of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School, the groom graduated cum laude from Harvard College and received his MBA from the Chicago Booth School of Business. He is a consultant in the Boston office of Bain & Company. His parents are Star and Christopher Smith of West Windsor.
The bride graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University. She received a master’s of science in education from Bank Street College and is a fourth-year medical student at Boston University. Her parents are Beth Goldstein and Ravi Sarathy of Newton, Massachusetts. The bride will keep her name.
#b#100th Birthday#/b#
Catherine C. Blackwell celebrated her 100th birthday September 1 at Merwick Care & Rehabilitation Center in Plainsboro. Close to 20 family members, some traveling from as far as California, were at the centenary celebration. Blackwell, a former resident of the Gables in West Windsor, was one of the first residents at Merwick.
Born and raised in Trenton, she was one of five children. Her father, a potter, died when she was five. Orphaned at 13 after her mother died of cancer, she was raised by her grandfather, John Deasy, who ran a grocery store at North Clinton and Hart avenues in Trenton.
When she was 14 she lied about her age and took a job at a five-and-dime store as a sales clerk. To get a better job, she learned how to rewire lamps.
Soon after she landed a job as a telephone operator running an old-fashioned switchboard in Skillman. It was there that she had a brush with history. She was at the switchboard in March, 1932, when a newspaper reporter called asking if she knew anything about the Lindbergh baby being kidnapped or missing. “I hadn’t heard anything about it,” says Blackwell. “I put him right through to the State Police.”
Her switchboard was busy as more and more reporters called trying to find out about the kidnapping, which caused a sensation and then resulted in what was called the “Trial of the Century” for the man accused of the crime resulting in the toddler’s death. “It was horrible,” she says. “I worked hard.”
It might be said that it was fate that brought Blackwell and her future husband, Norman P. Blackwell, together. A taxi that she was riding in broke down outside his garage in Hopewell. They met and he later asked the taxi driver for her number.
The couple ran the Broad Street Garage, located at Broad Street and Princeton Avenue in Hopewell, after World War II. She did the bookkeeping and drove to Trenton or Newark for parts. When the garage became a car dealership, she sold Plymouths and Chryslers. Blackwell lived in Hopewell for 85 years.
One daughter and son-in-law, Cathy and Joseph Zuccarello, live in West Windsor. Blackwell’s younger daughter and son-in-law, Nora and David Dula, live in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. She has four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Blackwell’s advice to people who want to reach the age of 100 is “do what you like to do. You don’t want anybody pushing you around.” She remained active, never smoked, and rarely took medication. “I didn’t always have my own way,” she said. “I did what I had to do.”
#b#Community Service#/b#
Ron Bansky of West Windsor received Allstate Agency’s Hands in the Community Award for distinguished community service. The award came with a $1,000 grant to Safe Kids USA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing injury prevention directly to kids and their families.
Bansky, who recently opened an agency in Princeton Junction, his second in the state, believes that it is important to support his community. “Community involvement makes you feel good and is a great way to show people that you care about your neighborhood and are committed to it,” said Bansky.
Rocco Balsamo, a realtor with Long & Foster’s West Windsor office, is a finalist in the Good Neighbor Awards program that recognizes and honors realtors who volunteer in their communities. Balsomo will be featured in the November/December issue of Realtor Magazine.
#b#Deaths#/b#
John Paul LaSelle, 63, of Rockford, Illinois, died August 8. Born in Trenton, he worked at Chase Morgan Bank and volunteered at West Windsor Fire Department. Survivors include his brother and sister-in-law, David and Caryn LaSelle. Donations may be made to West Windsor Volunteer Fire Company, 153 South Mill Road, Princeton Junction 08550.
Jerome “Jerry” Thomas Oldham, 52, of New Brunswick died September 4. Survivors include a sister and brother-in-law, Patricia and Chris Reef of Plainsboro.
John “Jack” L. Olson of Lawrenceville died September 5. Survivors include his wife, Ruth Olson; son and daughter-in-law Gregory and Robin Olson of West Windsor, granddaughter and her husband, Meghan and Justin Morse; granddaughter Laura Olson; grandsons and wives Thomas and Jessica Olson and Matthew and Kathryn Olson; and great-grandsons Jeremy and Nathan Morse. Donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 196 Princeton-Hightstown Road, Building 2, Suite 11, Princeton Junction 08550.
William J. Johnson, 71, of Monroe died September 11. Survivors include his sister Claire Johnson-Conlon and his goddaughter Jamie Conlon of Plainsboro. Donations may be made to the Columbia University Medical Center Kidney and Pancreas Program, C/O Joan Kelly, Presbyterian Hospital Building, 622 West 168th Street 12th Floor, New York, NY 10032.
Thomas Kouridakis, 85, of Somerset, died September 13. Survivors include a son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Bridget Kouridakis of Plainsboro. Donations may be made to Thomas Kouridakis Memorial Fund 1101 River Road, Piscataway 08854.
Cynthia Marie “Cindy” Marten DeLessio, 64, died September 16. Survivors include a sister, Joanne Marten Cornick of West Windsor. Donations may be made to Pasco-Hernando Hospice, 6807 Rowan Road, New Port Richey, FL 34653.
