Obituaries
Thomas W. Gillespie
Charles P. Dennison
Edith M. Kogan
Theodore G. Hammond Jr.
Edward M. Crane Jr.
Mary D. Willcox
John Lanzetta
Thomas W. Gillespie
Dr. Thomas W. Gillespie, president emeritus of Princeton Theological Seminary, died at Princeton Medical Center on November 5, 2011. He was 83 years old.
In 1983 Gillespie was appointed as fifth president of the Seminary the first theological seminary established by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church and the largest Presbyterian seminary in the country and served as president and professor of New Testament until his retirement in 2004.
During his presidency, Gillespie strengthened the Seminary faculty with the addition of three African American professors, eleven women professors, and the first professor of science and theology, Dr. Wentzel van Huyssteen of South Africa. Gillespies tenure saw the establishment of the Kyung-Chik Han Chair in Systematic Theology, held by Professor Sang Lee and the first chair at an American seminary to honor an Asian church leader.
During Gillespies presidency, Princeton Seminary constructed several new buildings, including Luce Library, Scheide and Templeton Halls, the Witherspoon Apartments, and a new parking garage. Erdman Hall was completely redesigned and renovated as the Seminarys state-of-the-art continuing education center, and Miller Chapel underwent a major restoration, including installation of the Joe R. Engle organ.
Under his leadership, the Seminary established the Institute for Youth Ministry, one of the foremost educational programs in support of the theology and practice of youth ministry in the country.
Gillespie also led in the development of a significant partnership with Pew Charitable Trust and Lilly Endowment Inc. to provide an office for the Hispanic Theological Initiative, a national initiative to support and train PhD-level Hispanic/Latina(o) scholars and teachers.
Gillespie was the author of The First Theologians: A Study in Early Christian Prophecy, published by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company in 1994.
But it was as a pastor that Gillespie was most known and valued by the Seminary community and alumni/ae. He regularly preached in chapel during his presidency, and often provided pastoral care to students, faculty members, and staff. He once said that there is no work in the world that is more interesting, more challenging, and more gratifying than the work of pastoral ministry. Among the honors that have come to me, I can think of none greater than when a member of my congregation has introduced me to a friend by saying, I would like you to meet my pastor.
Gillespie understood the Seminary as being in service to the church, and served on many denominational committees and bodies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and of San Francisco and New Brunswick Presbyteries. After his retirement, he served as a member of the General Assembly Council, the PCUSAs national governing council.
Gillespie graduated from Pepperdine University in 1951 and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1954. Prior to assuming his position as president of Princeton Seminary, he began a new church in Garden Grove, Calif., and served as its pastor from 1954 to 1966. In 1966 he was called to be pastor and head of staff of the First Presbyterian Church in Burlingame, Calif., and served there until 1983. He earned a PhD from Claremont Graduate School in 1971.
Gillespie is survived by his wife of 58 years, Barbara; his son, William Gillespie of London, England, and daughter-in-law Angela Im; his daughter, Robyn Glassman of Denver, Co., and son-in-law Kenneth Glassman; and his daughter Dayle Gillespie Rounds of Princeton, and son-in-law Stephen Rounds; and his grandchildren, William, Trevor, and Hilary Glassman, Isla Gillespie, and Emilia and Alexandra Rounds.
A memorial service will be held at Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton on Monday, November 14 at 1 p.m., followed by a reception at Princeton Seminary. The Mather Hodge Funeral Home in Princeton is handling the arrangements.
Memorial donations may be made to the Thomas W. Gillespie Scholarship Endowment Fund and sent to the Office of Seminary Relations, Princeton Theological Seminary, 64 Mercer Street, Princeton, N.J. 08540.
Charles P. Dennison
Charles P. Dennison
Charles Pugh Dennison, 95, a long-time Princeton resident, died October 27, 2011.
Raised in Rye, N.Y., he went to St. Pauls School in New Hampshire and graduated from Princeton University in 1939. He was an educator at heart and held numerous positions in higher education. Upon graduation, he taught for two years at St. Andrews School in Delaware, followed by five years of active duty in the U.S. Navy, as a destroyer engineer officer and later as a teacher at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, his exit rank a Lieutenant-Commander.
He returned briefly to teaching at St. Pauls School, and then earned an MBA at Harvard Business School, and a Doctorate in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.
He came back to Princeton in 1953 and filled various roles including working with alumni teacher placement and teaching part time at the engineering school at Princeton. In 1958 he was recruited to the U.S. Office of Education in Washington D.C. where he became the Executive Officer for educational research and development. This led him to two years at the State Department for international policy planning during the Kennedy administration, dealing with world literacy and educational issues of the cold war.
Following this position, he took a two year appointment with Rutgers in a Carnegie supported position which brought him back to Princeton. At the end of his appointment, he returned to the office of education as Regional Director of Higher Education in New York. In 1970 he accepted the position of the Executive Director of the English Speaking Union of the United States, headquartered in New York.
Since his retirement in 1978, he had been active in both university and community interests and causes. He volunteered for the Trenton Public Schools, the Princeton Regional schools, and was a trustee of the Westminster Choir College. He was also a member of the Nassau Club, Pretty Brook Tennis Club, Springdale Golf Club, Princeton Society of Musical Amateurs, and the Princeton and Union Clubs of N.Y.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Jane; his daughters, Anne and Laura; his stepson, James D. Wharton; and five grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 26 at 11 a.m. at the Princeton University Chapel.
Arrangements are under the direction of The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.
Edith M. Kogan
Edith M. Kogan, 82, died October 12 in the University Medical Center at Princeton.
Born in Berlin, Germany on June 9, 1929, she was the daughter of Nathan Miller and Regina Schlanger Miller. In June 1937, due to her fathers growing concern about Nazi activities that were beginning to affect their business as furriers, they fled in the middle of the night on a train to France. They eventually arrived in New York City, where, thanks to hard work and persistence, they were able to re-establish themselves as furriers on the Grand Concourse of the Bronx, which was, at the time, an elegant fashion center.
She obtained a BA in Fine Arts at Hunter College in Manhattan. Among the faculty were Ad Reinhardt and Don Kingman, both influential in her work. In 1965, after marrying Nathan Kogan and giving birth to their daughter, she obtained a MA in Fine Arts from Rutgers University. While she was a student, Roy Lichtenstein and George Segal were among the faculty who also influenced her perspectives and work.
Her husbands sabbatical took her to Paris from 1967 to 1969, where she did post-graduate studies with William Hayter in his well-known Atelier 17, and with Day Schnable, sculptress.
Following her divorce in the 1970s, she worked at the Princeton Public Library where she organized creative childrens programming for 18 years. During this time, she was also very active with the womens liberation movement, and specifically the National Organization for Women.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, she continued to paint, sculpt, and exhibit her work, primarily locally. Most of her work in these later years was abstract, using watercolor, tempera, ink, pencil, pastel, and gouache.
Her health began to decline in the late 1990s and she spent the last few years of her life dealing with significant cardiovascular disease, although continuing to draw, paint, and write. Throughout her life she remained an extraordinarily creative spirit and loving mother and grandmother.
She is survived by her daughter and two granddaughters.
A memorial service will be held on November 19 at 3:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, N.J. 08540.
To extend condolences, please visit TheKimbleFuneralHome.com.
Theodore G. Hammond Jr.
Theodore G. Ted Hammond Jr., 75, of Kingston, died November 5 at his residence after a long illness.
Born in New Brunswick, he lived in Princeton Borough before moving to Kingston 35 years ago. He retired in 1997, after 37 years of teaching at the John Witherspoon Middle School.
He is survived by his son, Allen R. Sassman; and his sister, Judith Kane.
Services will begin on Thursday, November 10 at 11:30 a.m. at the Kimble Funeral Home, One Hamilton Avenue, Princeton. Relatives and friends may gather after 10:30 a.m.
A private cremation will follow the services with burial in Princeton Cemetery at a future date.
Visiting hours, at the funeral home, will be held on Wednesday, November 9 from 4 to 8 p.m.
Donations may be made to All Saints Church, 16 All Saints Road, Princeton, N.J. 08540.
To extend condolences, please visit TheKimbleFuneralHome.com.
Edward M. Crane Jr.
Edward (Ted) M. Crane Jr., of Princeton, died November 6.
Born in Rumson in 1922, he was the son of Edward M. and Margaret Atha Crane. He was a descendent of Jasper Crane and Robert Treat, founders of Newark, New Jersey.
After graduating from the Pomfret School in 1940, he spent a post graduate year at the Lawrenceville School before attending Princeton University. He graduated in 1945, and proudly served in the Marines during World War II where he fought in the battle of Peleliu. Upon his return, he joined his familys book publishing company, Van Nostrand Company. In 1970, he founded Boutwell, Crane and Moseley, then joined the Council for Financial Aid to Education in 1986.
He was defined by the many passions that sustained him. He could be found at any time and in equal measure zestfully engaging in gardening, playing golf, bridge, or tennis, cataloguing his book collection, completing a crossword puzzle, traveling the world, reading a three pound work of nonfiction and/or railing at the liberals. After retirement, his unrealized creativity was made apparent when he began creating intricate and witty collages. Made from found objects, these compact, three-dimensional artworks were shown at the New Jersey State Museum and the Dutch Treat Club in New York.
Throughout his life, he gave his time to many boards and organizations including the Aerospace Education Foundation, Friends of the Princeton University Library, the National Schools Committee, the Fishers Island Conservancy, and Historic Morven. He also served as president of the National Schools Committee for Elementary Education.
He was an active member of the Metropolitan Club, Washington; the Century Club, N.Y.; the Dutch Treat Club, N.Y.; the Fishers Island Club; Bedens Brook Club; and the Nassau Club.
Predeceased by his sister, Harriet; and his son, Matt; he is survived by his wife of 45 years, Jean; his daughter, Cordelia Ritchie; step daughters, Rachel Cantlay, Allison Sargent, and Kitty Butt; 11 grandchildren; and three great grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Street, Princeton, on November 12 at noon.
Donations may be made to Historic Morven, 55 Stockton Street, Princeton, N.J. 08540.
Mary D. Willcox
Mary Dudley Willcox, 93, of York, Maine, and longtime resident of Princeton, died October 26 at home.
Born on September 2, 1918 in Trenton, she was the daughter of the late Dudley and Matilda Hendrickson Willcox. She spent her youth in Lawrenceville with her parents and sister, Elizabeth Anne.
Immediately upon graduation from the New Jersey State Teachers College in 1940, she began her thirty-three-year career as a kindergarten teacher at the Nassau Street School in Princeton. During these years she also taught Sunday School and was a member of the Nassau Presbyterian Church and the Womens College Club of Princeton.
She loved life to the fullest and was grateful for each new day. Her thoughtfulness for those in need was ever present and an unending love of family and strong faith in God guided all of her decisions. Her interests included traveling and exploring other cultures, the world of nature, especially astronomy, gardening, and sea life, poetry, music, and theater. She looked forward to returning to Ogunquit each summer and walking on the beloved Marginal Way.
In 2000, she moved to York Harbor, Maine, with her sister, Betty, to be closer to her niece and great niece, as well as the ocean. She and her sister loved their new cottage at Sentry Hill, joining the First Parish Church and participating in many activities. Spending summers in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, she enjoyed mountain walks with her family well into her eighties. Never one to say no to a challenge, her enthusiasm and cheerfulness was contagious.
She is survived by her sister, Elizabeth Anne Willcox DAgostino; as well as extended family.
Mary will be laid to rest beside her parents in the Lawrenceville cemetery.
The family would like to thank York Fire and Ambulance, York Hospital Home Care, Home Instead Senior Care, and Beacon Hospice for their excellent care and friends in York and at Sentry Hill for their friendship and support during her final months.
Donations in her memory may be made to the York Ambulance Association, P.O. Box 238, York, Maine, 03909.
Funeral services will be private, under the direction of Lucas & Eaton Funeral Home, 91 Long Sands Road, York, Maine, www.lucaseatonfuneralhome.com.
John Lanzetta
John Lanzetta, 85, of Princeton, died November 6 at the University Medical Center at Princeton.
Born in Ischia, Naples, Italy, he came to the United States settling in Princeton in 1951. He was a self-employed landscaper, working in the area from 1951 until his retirement in 2000. He was a member of St. Pauls Catholic Church in Princeton. In his leisure time, he was an avid sportsman with a special interest in hunting.
Predeceased by his parents, Salvatore and Anna Sasso Lanzetta; his son, Salvatore J. Sal Lanzetta; and his sister, Lucia Aliperti; he is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary Mazzella Lanzetta; his daughter, Anna Prete; one grandson; three great grandchildren; and three sisters, Theresa Travisano, Carmela Dri, and Yolanda Lanzetta.
Funeral services will begin on November 11 at 10:30 a.m. in the Kimble Funeral Home, 1 Hamilton Avenue, Princeton. A funeral mass will follow at 11 a.m. at St. Pauls Catholic Church, 214 Nassau Street, Princeton.
Burial will be in the family plot at Princeton Cemetery.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, November 10 at The Kimble Funeral Home from 6 to 8 p.m.
To extend condolences, please visit TheKimbleFuneralHome.com.
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