Michael Danielson

Princeton University political scientist Michael Danielson, who helped modernize the study of local government in the United States and abroad, died September 22, 2016 in Princeton. He was 82 years old.

Danielson, the B.C. Forbes Professor of Public Affairs, Emeritus, and professor of politics and public affairs, emeritus, joined the Princeton faculty in 1962 and transferred to emeritus status in 2005. Born in New York City, Danielson received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rutgers University and his PhD from Princeton. From 1956 to 1959, he served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force.

Danielson’s scholarship focused on urban policy and planning, with a particular interest in the politics of economic development. He also served the University as chair of the department of politics and associate dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, among many other posts.

Danielson’s best-known book, The Politics of Exclusion (1976), set the stage for analysis of the growing distinctions between cities and suburbs, said Paul Lewis, who earned his PhD from Princeton in 1994 and is now associate professor in the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University.

“The Politics of Exclusion was a thorough examination of the problem of the ‘exclusionary zoning’ of suburbia, through which many suburbs were able to remain exclusive upper- and middle-income enclaves in an era when the urban poor, particularly racial minorities, were seeking residential opportunities outside of segregated inner-city areas,” Lewis said.

In all, Danielson wrote 11 books, including Home Team: Professional Sports and the American Metropolis and Profit and Politics in Paradise: The Development of Hilton Head Island. He also wrote about growth in modern Turkey, regional development in New York and urban transportation.

Home Team, a critical examination of the relationship between cities and pro sports teams, helped launch a popular course Danielson taught in the latter part of his Princeton career on the political economy of sports.

Danielson, whose interest in sports went beyond his scholarship, brought famed sports announcer Howard Cosell to campus in 1992 to lecture on “Public Policy and Sports in American Life.” Former colleague Henry Bienen, later president of Northwestern University, recalled sharing many trips with Danielson to Princeton basketball games. With Lewis, Danielson shared a love for the long-suffering New York Mets.

Danielson was in high demand as an adviser for undergraduates’ senior theses, Lewis said.

“For years, Mike had a highly coveted corner office on the top floor of Robertson Hall, where students could sit on a comfortable sofa and take in a scenic vista of the campus while getting detailed advice on their papers or career options — and maybe even borrowing a book from the extensive collection in Mike’s office,” Lewis said.

Danielson is survived by his wife, Linda Danielson; daughter, Jessica Danielson; sons, Jeffrey and Matthew Danielson; sister, Holly Clevely; and brother, Peter Danielson.

Memorial donations may be made to HomeFront or the D&R Greenway Land Trust.

A memorial service was held earlier this month.

Written by Michael Hotchkiss

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Kathleen Elizabeth Corson

Kathleen Elizabeth Corson, 26, formerly of Port Jefferson, N.Y., died Aug. 18, 2016.

Born Sept. 18, 1989, in San Antonio, Texas, “Kat” was a graduate of Princeton High School in Princeton, and a lover of music, theater and the arts.

The daughter of Diane Corson of Port Jefferson and the late Walter Corson, Kathleen completed the Child Development Associate Training Program at Molloy College and was hoping to pursue a professional childcare career. Kathleen adored children, especially her young nieces, Selah and Piper Heim; and nephews, Zachary and Harrison Zeller.

In addition to her mother, Kathleen is survived by her sister, Lisa Heim-Zeller, of Wading River, N.Y.; her bother, Douglas Heim, of Boston, Mass.; sister-in-law Stacy Swift of Boston; brother-in-law Gregory Zeller of Shoreham, N.Y.; her nieces and nephews, of Boston and Wading River; and her beloved dog, Precious.

Services were held Aug. 23 at the Mount Sinai Congregational Church in Mount Sinai, NY. Interment followed at Princeton Cemetery in Princeton. Arrangements were through the Bryant Funeral Home in Setauket, NY. www.bryantfh.com.

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Venkatesan Swaminatha Perry

Venkatesan Swaminatha Perry died peacefully in his sleep at his long-time home in Princeton on Saturday, October 15. He was an accomplished researcher and scientist, a devoted and loving family man, and a kind and generous friend to the many people whose lives he touched. His ebullient personality drew out the best qualities of each person he met. He was 84 and lived a rich and varied life.

As a young man, he went from studying by kerosene lamp while growing up as a teenager in rural India, to helping develop the fuel-cell system that put the first man on the moon while he was also working on his doctorate at Columbia University.

Born in Govindarajapuram, a small village in Palghat, India, on April 28, 1932, he was the first child of Swaminathan and Thangammal Peruvemba. From humble beginnings in Palghat, he studied in the small local public schools and graduated with a Bachelor of Physics in 1952 from the Government Victoria College. Over the next four years, he completed his Bachelor of Engineering in metallurgy at Banaras Hindu University, where he was awarded a Gold Medal for outstanding academic achievement. He also played soccer and cricket while in school.

After graduating from Banaras, he worked for a year for Hindustan Steel in Rourkela, India, and was then sent to U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh for training. Fascinated by the opportunities in the United States, he decided to stay. He continued his education, earning a Masters degree from New York University and a PhD from Columbia.

Dr. Perry held several research and scientist roles over the years at Western Electric, General Cable, and Bell Communications Research. He was a pioneer in optical fiber and fuel cell technologies, with several patents to his credit.

He was also an avid skier and tennis player, and his infectious enthusiasm for both activities helped introduce many others to his two favorite sports.

Family was extremely important to Dr. Perry and he was very generous in helping his relatives both in the U.S. and India. He was instrumental in bringing his three brothers to the U.S. and getting them settled in their lives. He was truly a friend to his siblings and a father figure to their children.

His brothers Seshan and his wife, Lalitha; Balu and his wife, Radha; and Natarajan and his wife, Sudha; all live in the U.S. His only sister, Kamakshi, passed away in 2014.

In 1991, after a lengthy and romantic courtship, he married Elizabeth Stuyvesant Pyne in a ceremony on the island of Kauai surrounded by family. They were steadfast bridge partners and great friends, and enjoyed traveling together, with India and Brazil being two of their favorite destinations. Dr. Perry was much loved by his wife’s three sons, Russell, Lawrence, and John, to whom he quickly became a trusted friend and father figure.

His stepsons will never forget how “P.V.”, as they called him as young boys, could seamlessly transition from a fellow backyard Wiffle Ball fanatic to a skilled teacher helping them master their nightly studies, particularly in math and the sciences.

When his three stepsons started raising families of their own, Dr. Perry embraced the role of grandfather and was adored by his 10 grandchildren. He was a devoted husband who lovingly cared for his wife in her later years. Mrs. Perry passed away at their home in 2015 with Dr. Perry by her side.

He is survived by his three brothers and their families and his three stepsons and their families.

A celebration of Dr. Perry’s life will be held in the coming months in Princeton. His ashes will be scattered at his Princeton home, at his wife’s ancestral churchyard in Garrison, N.Y., and in the Ganges River in India.

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Phyllis Bergquist Billington

Phyllis Bergquist Billington died peacefully at the age of 88 in Los Angeles, California of congestive heart failure. Born in Chicago, Illinois to John and Gerda Bergquist, she lived most of her adult life in Princeton, before moving to California in 2013.

Phyllis was the beloved wife for 65 years of David P. Billington; the loving mother of David, Jr.; Elizabeth (Donald); Jane (Johnson); Philip (Ninik), Stephen (Miriam); and Sarah (Peter); and the proud grandmother of Zoë, Timothy, Susannah, Lucy, Francesca, Rachel, Roy, Daisy, Anna, Clara, and Bram. She was also dearly loved by many in-laws, cousins, nieces, and nephews from the Bergquist and Billington families, and friends from childhood on. Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents, and by her brothers Howard and Roy, and her sisters Beatrice and Janet.

Phyllis was a musician all her life. She began playing the piano at an early age, studying first with Theodora Sturkow Ryder. She was the outstanding graduate of Chicago’s Nicholas Senn High School in winter 1945, elected to the National Honor Society and the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. Majoring in philosophy and music, she graduated from Northwestern University in 1949, Phi Beta Kappa, and outstanding graduate of the College of Liberal Arts. Phyllis wrote for many Northwestern publications, and she was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority. While still in college, she began modeling, appearing in local and national publications, and winning the 1948 New York Heart Fund Dream Girl competition.

After graduation she moved to New York City to study piano with Dora Zaslavsky at the Manhattan School of Music. She also continued modeling, with the John Robert Powers Agency, and graced the covers of McCall’s, Colliers, Look Magazine, The Ladies Home Journal, and The American Magazine, among others.

In 1950 Phyllis received a Fulbright Scholarship to study both piano and harpsichord at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Belgium. Fellow Fulbright Scholar David fell in love with Phyllis at first sight, and they were married in Chicago in 1951. Before settling in New Jersey, Phyllis and David spent their first year of marriage in Ghent, Belgium, continuing their piano and engineering studies. They lived in Glen Ridge, New Jersey from 1952 to 1960.

Phyllis’s life in Princeton was filled with music and her six children. She co-founded the University League Piano Group and was an active member of the Music Club of Princeton. She appeared in recital at Princeton University for the Friends of Music, in concerts at the Trenton State Museum, and overseas in performances in Belgium and Switzerland. Her “Illustrated Performances,” lecture recitals on classical composers, took her to audiences in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. She shared her passion for piano music, her sensitivity, and her scholarship with the Princeton Adult School, college concert series, libraries, retirement communities, community groups, and fellow music lovers, including her family. Her piano studio nurtured countless children and adults for over 60 years, introducing them to the expressive power and emotional fulfillment of music; and she was deeply enriched by continuing her own studies with Karl Ulrich Schnabel in New York City from 1977 to 2001.

Phyllis appreciated the many opportunities she and David had to travel, especially in Europe — opportunities to gather material and background for her lecture recitals, to meet cousins in Sweden, to visit with old friends, to experience other cultures and histories. She shared her memories of these trips, of her early life, of her family life and ancestry, and of her experience as a piano teacher and student herself in written memoirs, detailed photo albums, and scrapbooks. Although music was the guiding force in her interior life, she cherished her training in philosophy. “I never could have gotten through life without it,” she wrote. “Philosophy taught me to analyze, to see what was important, to keep my mind open but not be afraid of convictions.” Among the last words she spoke testify to her conviction that music was the expression of the love and emotion in her life: listening to a beloved Schubert sonata, she said, “pour your heart into it!”

Phyllis was a devoted member of Christ Episcopal Church, Glen Ridge, and Trinity Church, Princeton.

A service in Phyllis’s memory will be held at Trinity Church on Wednesday, December 28th, 2016 at 2 p.m., followed by a reception in the Trinity Church Hall.

Memorial donations may be made to Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Road, Princeton, NJ 08540 and to the Music Club of Princeton Scholarship Fund, c/o J. Rogers Woolston, 229 Walnut Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540-3459.

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Memorial Service: Hugh “Tony” Cline

A celebration of the life of Hugh “Tony” Cline who died on July 4, 2016, will be held Saturday, October 29th at 11 a.m. at the Princeton University Chapel. Friends and family are cordially invited to attend. A reception will follow the service at Prospect House at Princeton University. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his name to the Girard College Foundation at 2101 S. College Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19121, or an educational program that promotes academic advancement for underprivileged children in your community.

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Patricia Ann Connors

Patricia Ann Connors died peacefully in her sleep on September 13, 2016. She was an early feminist, an adventurous traveler, an elegant dresser, a fabulous cook, a tireless advocate for social justice, and a generous and patient mother, who taught her three children the importance of a robust sense of humor to meet life’s absurdities. She will be missed by everyone who knew her.

Born in New York City in 1933, Patricia, or Pat as she was known, was a both a product of her age and also demonstrated a fierce resistance to the norms that circumscribed women’s lives. Pat was a nationally ranked tennis player in her youth, and played in the U.S. Tennis Championships at Forest Hills at a teenager. Instead of continuing her tennis career, Pat attended the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, where, her children were recently surprised to learn, she had also been the president of her sorority. She was that kind of girl.

Upon graduation, she received her first professional job as a reporter for the Newark News, where she was assigned the “Society News” and “Women’s” column — because, this being the 1940s, those were the only jobs open to highly educated female journalists. Her children suspect this was the origin of her lifelong commitment to the women’s equal rights movement. At her next job, at the New York World Telegram and Sun, she covered politics — an interest she cultivated in both her professional and personal life. She met and married her future ex-husband while working on the paper, and moved to Philadelphia, put her husband through medical school, started a family, all while commuting to Manhattan to work as a senior researcher for the New York State Democratic Committee.

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Pat combined her personal commitment to social justice as an early campaigner for the Equal Rights Amendment (she remembers the state of Florida as being particularly unreceptive to the idea) and in Princeton, where she relocated with her family in 1975. She later became an active member of the Princeton Women’s Action Group, with whom she made several trips to Nicaragua and Cuba in the 1980s.

Pat earned an MA in organizational psychology from Columbia University and then returned to
graduate school to receive a PhD in clinical psychology in her mid-60s. Ms. Connors worked as a psychologist for death row inmates at Trenton State Prison, and also had a private practice in Princeton, until she retired in 2013.

She is survived by her children, Caroline Cleaves of Princeton; Christopher Cleaves of Fairfax Station, Virginia; and Henderson James Cleaves of Washington, D.C.; her grandchildren, Sam and Ava Tabeart, Fiona, and Liam Cleaves, and Annika Cleaves.

Her family warmly invites all those who knew her and loved her to a memorial service at Murray Dodge Hall on Saturday, November 5 at noon to 2 p.m.

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Lucien Davis Yokana

Lucien Davis Yokana, 89, of Princeton, New Jersey and Biddeford Pool, Maine died peacefully surrounded by his family Thursday, September 29, 2016 in Princeton.

Lucien graduated from Princeton University in 1948 with a BSE in engineering. In 1949, he married Anne D. Guthrie at Trinity Episcopal Church in Princeton, and they raised five children and lived happily until her death in 2012.

Lucien’s career started at Johnson & Johnson and Hartig Machine. In 1959, he founded Sterling Extruder Corporation, which became one of the largest and most innovative plastics companies in the industry. Sterling merged with Baker Perkins in 1986. After the merger, Lucien retained the Davis Electric division (later Merritt Davis) where he was chairman until the company was sold in 2005. He was a pioneer and a respected leader in the plastics industry, held numerous related patents, and set a precedent that still stands today regarding trade secrets in a case that was heard by the United States Supreme Court. He continued to serve on numerous boards and consult in the plastics field up until his final days.

He was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church for nearly 70 years and served as Senior Warden of St. Martin’s in the Field Episcopal Church, a summer chapel at Biddeford Pool, Maine. He was a member of Bedens Brook Club, Pretty Brook Tennis Club, the Nassau Club, the Mill Reef Club in Antigua, and the Princeton Club of N.Y. In addition, Lucien was a member and past president of the Abenakee Club and the Pool Beach Association in Biddeford Pool.

Lucien loved music and a fine cocktail with friends. He will be remembered as a consummate and gracious gentleman with a quick wit, outstanding sense of humor, and uncanny ability to tell a remarkably good joke. Lucien will also be remembered for his unparalleled devotion to his wife, family, friends, and the Princeton Class of 1948 where he served as a class officer. He participated in Princeton reunions and the P-rade every year from 1948 through 2016.

He is survived by his brother Andre Yokana; two sons, Alexander D. Guthrie and Lucien S.Y. Guthrie; three daughters, Ariane G. Peixoto, Isabelle G. Yokana and Alice G. Barfield; and seven grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, November 10, 2016 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Princeton.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Trinity Episcopal Church.

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Matthew J. Glinka

Matthew J. Glinka, 99, died on October 13, 2016, in Burlington, Mass., just four months shy of his 100th birthday. Born in Greenwich, Conn. to Polish immigrant parents, Matty was a long-time resident of Princeton where he managed the University Cottage Club for 30 years. Loving husband of the late Elizabeth Nason Glinka for 41 years. Survived by four daughters, Elaine Glinka of Mesa, Ariz.; Charlotte Glinka, of Boston, Mass.; Diane Glinka of Dunstable, Mass.; and Sarah Glinka Endicott of Ann Arbor, Mich.; and their families. Also survived by six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Matty was a World War II veteran, having served in the Army with the invasionary forces at Normandy and in the European Theatre. He courageously battled polio in his 30‘s and never needed a wheelchair until his late 90‘s. One of his biggest joys was staying in touch with countless
Cottage Club members throughout the years. Matty enjoyed deep-sea fishing, refurbishing antique trunks, recounting his military experiences, and telling a good joke. In lieu of flowers, friends may wish to contribute in Matty’s memory to a veterans’ organization or charity of their choice.

Condolences at www.sullivanfuneralhome.net. Services will be private.

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Memorial Service: Elizabeth S. Ettinghausen

Elizabeth S. Ettinghausen, passed away on June 12, 2016. Her friends are invited to a service in her remembrance on Saturday, October 22, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. at the Princeton University Chapel. A reception will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in her memory to her favorite environmental charities — the Audubon Society, the Wilderness Society, or the Environmental Defense Fund.

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Stuart Allen Altmann

Stuart Allen Altmann, age 86, passed away in Princeton, New Jersey on October 13, 2016 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up in Los Angeles, California. He was both a scientist and an artist, working as a field biologist for his professional life and pursuing ceramics expertly as an avocation. He earned degrees from UCLA and Harvard University, launching his lifelong studies of primate behavior. What set Altmann apart from his peers was his ability to frame problems conceptually, use mathematical models to make strong predictions, and then draw on his natural history insights and systematic observations to test them.

In the summer of 1958, he met his future wife Jeanne when they were both working for the NIH, and they married in 1959. He was a professor at the University of Alberta, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, University of Chicago, and Princeton University. In 1963–1964, Stuart and Jeanne Altmann made their first trip to Amboseli, Kenya, to study the baboons that would later become the subject of one of the world’s best-known long-term field studies of primates. Stuart and Jeanne were fortunate to spend decades working together in a rich, intellectual partnership.

Stuart approached his avocations with a passion and an attention to detail. He got equal pleasure from designing a home as from baking muffins to share with family and friends. He started an apple orchard on the family property in West Virginia, chronicling the taste and productivity of dozens of varieties and making gallons of cider.

Stuart’s aesthetic sense was strong and true, imbuing all his artistic pursuits with grace and style. Throughout his life Stuart loved sculpture and ceramics. He insisted that art be functional and yet also cared deeply about the aesthetics of design and form. He loved throwing pots and continually honed his skills and learned new techniques.

With his camera and artistic eye, he captured beautiful moments in the lives of each of his grandchildren, whom he enjoyed immensely. Listening to music and singing brought Stuart great pleasure, even in his last days. He loved a wide range of music from Bach to Coltrane, the deep melodious voice of Paul Robeson, and the drums of West Africa.

He was a captivating storyteller — stories of his adventures in the woods and travels around the world, and beloved bedtime stories for his children and grandchildren.

He will be sadly and deeply missed by Jeanne, his wife of 57 years; his son Michael Altmann of Minneapolis, Minnesota; his daughter Rachel Altmann of Portland, Oregon; grandchildren Elliot, Alice, and Benjamin; sister Ruth Nebron of Van Nuys, California; sister-in-law Grace Lynch and brother-in-law Tom Lynch of Rock Cave West Virginia; and many friends, co-workers, and associates. A memorial service will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, October 20th in the Atrium at Guyot Hall, Princeton University. In lieu of flowers please donate to the Fanconia Anemia Research Fund (http://fanconi.org) or the Penland School of Crafts (www.penland.org).