George William Bilyeu, Sr.

George William Bilyeu, Sr., born July 2, 1934, went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, at the age of 83.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Suzanne (Malcolm) Bilyeu; his daughter, Leslie Langer and husband Peter of Wilmington ,N.C.; his son George Bilyeu, Jr. and wife Melissa of Monmouth Junction, N.J.; his daughter, Robin Siegel and husband Kenneth of Somerville, N.J.; his son David Bilyeu and wife Laurie of Highlands Ranch, Colo. He is also survived by five grandsons: Ian Siegel (wife, Amanda), Eric Siegel, George Bilyeu III, Reese Bilyeu, and Shawn Bilyeu, and one great-grandson, Connor Siegel.

Born and raised in the Bronx, N.Y., the son of Kingdon and Margaret (Conover) Bilyeu, George graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, N.Y. A few years later, George met his wife, Suzanne Malcolm, at St. James Episcopal Church where they were married in 1957.

In 1957, George joined the U.S. Army Reserves and received an honorable discharge in 1963.

Mr. Bilyeu retired at the age of 57 after a 34 year career with the New York Telephone Co. Friends and family never tired of hearing his many funny stories about those years with the telephone company.

In 1966, George and his family moved to North Brunswick, N.J., where they lived for 30 years, before moving to Princeton.

George was a strong man of God whose life was transformed through his faith in Jesus. As an active member of Nassau Christian Center, he served as Assistant Treasurer, Deacon, Steward, and led the Men’s Ministry group. George also helped manage the church’s men’s softball team.

George was an amazing, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He and his wife, Suzanne, celebrated their loving marriage of 60 years last April with their family. Together they enjoyed traveling and supporting their kids and then grandchildren in sports and musical performances. George was always the one in the stands cheering the loudest. That enthusiasm was also evident in his lifelong love for the N.Y. Mets.

Words often used to describe George are kind, funny, giving, thoughtful, honest, considerate, helpful, and generous. Even up until the end George never failed to ask, “what can I do to help?”

A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Saturday, April 7, 2018 at 11 a.m., with visitation at 10:30 a.m. at Nassau Christian Center located at 26 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Nassau Christian Center, nassauchristian.org, or Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, diabetesfoundation.JDRF.com.

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Jean R. Petrone

Jean R. Petrone, 88, of Princeton, passed away at home on March 26, 2018 surrounded by her loving family. Jean was born in Gretna, Va. in 1929, the eldest daughter of Ruben and Mae Bosiger Rowles. She grew up on the family farm in Gretna, Va. and in Plainsboro, N.J. She was a proud graduate of Princeton High School class of 1947 where she met her husband of almost 70 years Jack Petrone. They met on a date at a soda shop on Nassau Street arranged by a mutual friend and they have been together ever since. She was an excellent student and a recipient of a Gold Key award as a senior at Princeton High, an achievement for which she was very proud. Upon graduating Princeton High School she went to work at NJ Bell Telephone. Upon Jack returning from his time in the Army they were married on May 1, 1948. She worked as a realtor for Carnegie Reality for many years after raising her five sons. The job that she was most proud of was raising her five sons. She dedicated herself to providing the best for her sons in every way she could. She was there for her children in every way. She provided comfort, love, and support for her children and grandchildren up until her last days.

Some of her favorite activities included being a member of the PTA and a home room mother at the Princeton Schools, volunteering for many years with the Heart Fund of Princeton and at Princeton Hospital. She loved to sing and was a member of the Sweet Adelines women’s singing group in the area for many years. She was a member of Springdale Golf Club and took up golf in her 50s. She enjoyed bowling in a number of women’s leagues. She enjoyed playing card games and played bridge at Springdale as well as other groups. She and Jack loved to dance and had an active social life for many years. She enjoyed cooking, especially for her grandchildren. She loved to do crossword puzzles and read the news in her later years. Jean was the lead cheerleader at thousands of her son’s and grandchildren’s ball games over many years. She was the beloved Grammy to her 14 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

Jean is survived by her husband John F. “Jack” Petrone; brother Larry and Betty Rowles, sister Carol Ann and Fred Ingram of Gretna, Va.; her sons John F. Jr. and Gail, James and Carol, Jeff and Leigh, Judd and Ginger, and Jason and Kathleen; her grandchildren Jaclyn, Jaime, and Akira Yamamoto, Dean, Kelsey, Chris, and Nicole, Brent, Todd, Jillian, Jordan, Judd Jr., Eva Mae, James, Jaxon, Travis; and great-granddaughter Cameran Yamamoto. She also leaves behind many other relatives including nieces, nephews, and cousins whom she cared deeply about.

The Funeral was held at  9 a.m. Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Ave., Princeton. Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated 10 a.m., Tuesday at St. Paul’s Church, 216 Nassau St., Princeton. Burial followed in Princeton Cemetery.

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Frances W. Harris

Frances W. Harris, 97, of Rumson, New Jersey, passed away on March 27, 2018. Frances was born in Richmond, Virginia, to the late Guy Leon and Anna Matta W. in 1920.

In 1941, Frances received her bachelor’s degree in English (also studying French, German, and Latin) from Westhampton College, University of Richmond, and later studied Library Science at the University of Virginia. After teaching in both Beaverdam and Stony Creek schools in rural Virginia, Frances married James R. Harris (later, a Bell Labs engineer) in 1943 and moved to New York City. The family later moved to Morristown, New Jersey, where Frances taught Sunday school at the First Presbyterian Church. After another move to Rumson, Frances served as Sunday school superintendent at the First Presbyterian Church of Rumson, where she taught the Presbyterian Women’s Bible Study and was an integral member of the church’s Historic Committee. Frances was an excellent seamstress who also loved to crochet, cook, listen to music, read, travel, and do New York Times Split Decision word puzzles. Most of all, Frances loved the time she spent at home with her family and her many dear friends.

Frances was predeceased by her beloved husband, James R. Harris.

Surviving are her children: Richard W. Harris of New York, N.Y.; Betty A. Harris and her husband, Edmund Moeller, of Princeton; and Beverly J. Harris and her husband, George Ott, of Rumson, N.J.; her daughters-in-law: Caroline Gower and Latifa Benkader; her grandchildren: Christopher and Yvonne Harris, Melissa M. Fliedner and her husband, Jim Fliedner, and Christopher and Rebecca Moeller; and her great-grandchildren: Nicholas, Emily, and John Richard.

There will be a memorial service and reception on Saturday, April 14, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the First Presbyterian Church of Rumson. Disposition will be handled privately. Memorial contributions can be made in Frances’s name to the First Presbyterian Church of Rumson, 4 E. River Rd, Rumson, NJ 07760. Services are being handled by John E. Day Funeral Home, Red Bank. Please visit Frances’s memorial website at johnedayfuneralhome.com.

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Dorothy Ann Stine

Dorothy Ann Stine, 92, died after a brief illness on March 20 at Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia.

Born in Princeton, on November 30, 1925, her parents were David S. Lloyd, co-owner of the F.A. Bamman grocery store on Nassau Street and a former town councilman, and Edith Rocknak.

Dorothy (who became known as “Dot”) attended public schools in Princeton. One of her favorite school stories had to do with a troubling math homework assignment that she couldn’t solve. Sitting on the stoop of her parents’ Harrison Street home, agonizing over the homework assignment, she spotted a man known around town for his scientific and mathematical prowess who was on his daily afternoon walk. She approached him for help. He obliged. His name was Albert Einstein.

Dorothy graduated from the University of Richmond with a BA in French, setting the stage for two of her children to attend the university as well as one of her granddaughters. She enjoyed traveling but didn’t get a lot of opportunity to do so – she did take a big trip to Europe (London and Paris) before settling into her work life.

Dorothy had worked as a proofreader/editor for the Princeton University Press and the Educational Testing Service. She was on a double-blind date when she met her future husband, Lester – known as “Les” (they were not on the date together but she caught Lester’s eye and they began dating shortly afterwards.)

Dorothy and Les married in April 1955 and soon thereafter they bought their first home in the Hampton Hills section of Ewing Township, N.J. Dorothy soon stopped working to become a full-time Mom – her three children Rick, Leslie, and Kimberly were born over the course of the next handful of years.

Dorothy was creative. She enjoyed painting watercolors and oils, especially landscapes. She became interested in ceramics and eventually had her own kiln (two of them) installed in the basement of Dorothy and Les’ second home just down the street from their first home.

Family friends had a cottage on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire and invited the Stines to visit. In coming years, that became an annual ritual with the Stines renting a cottage until Les and Dorothy bought a cottage of their own.

It was where Dorothy spent many summers, painting, relaxing by the water, watching Les and the kids playing with canoes and sailboats. She loved to play Bridge and on rainy days at the cottage when family friends visited, Dorothy was often the first to suggest grabbing a deck of cards to play a few hands.

Dorothy loved to garden – in her backyard she had a large herb and vegetable garden that supplied the dinner table for many months each year.

When the newspaper was delivered each morning, Dorothy would grab two sections – the crossword puzzle and the stock listings; while she may not have been strong in textbook math, she had a love for investing and the stock market. She faithfully opened a ledger each morning and recorded the closing prices of her portfolio. She did this for years.

She enjoyed traveling. She and Les took trips to Hawaii and Florida for holiday and to Minnesota to visit Les’ relatives. But other than her European trip after college and Les’ military service which had him based in Frankfurt, Germany during the Korean War, they never traveled outside of the country together until 1988 when they took a trip to Portugal and Spain. She also traveled with her son-in-law’s family to China and Hong Kong.

With two of her three children and all of her grandchildren living in or around Virginia Beach, Va., it was a simple decision where to move after Les died in 1991. She moved there in 1994.

Dorothy is survived by her three children: Richard “Rick” Stine and his wife, Andrea, of Princeton, N.J.; Leslie Neatrour and her husband Dr. Peyton Neatrour of Virginia Beach, Va.; and Kimberly Katz and her husband Howell of Smithfield, Va. In addition, she is survived by four grandchildren and one niece: Dr. Kristin Neatrour and her husband Dr. Janus Patel of Charleston, S.C.; Kaitlyn Neatrour of Richmond, Va.; Greg Neatrour of Virginia Beach; Brendon Marston of Gulfport, Florida; and Nancy Whitbeck of Litchfield Plains, Maine. She was predeceased by her sister and her husband, Edie and George Whitbeck.

Dorothy’s ashes will be spread in the gardens of Trinity Episcopal Church in Trenton, N.J., on April 4 where Lester’s ashes were also spread. A memorial service will be held at a future date.

The family asks that memorial donations in Dorothy Stine’s name may be offered to: CASA for Children of Mercer and Burlington Counties, 1450 Parkside Avenue, Suite 22, Ewing, N.J. 08638.

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Nathaniel Hartshorne

Nathaniel Hartshorne, who died March 28, 2018 in Blawenburg, N.J., at 11:15 a.m. at the age of 91, spent most of his career as an editor and freelance magazine and newspaper writer. His articles and stories have appeared in Harpers, The New York Times, Family Circle, The Ladies Home Journal, and American Heritage. A National Treasure, a play he wrote with Charles Leeder, was produced in 1988. In March, he produced Keeping in Touch, a collection of his letters.

Mr. Hartshorne is survived by his wife of 65 years, the former Valerie Thomas; daughters Anne Allen, Jennifer Hartshorne, and Caroline Hartshorne, all of Princeton; as well as a son, Max Hartshorne, of Deerfield, Massachusetts; nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Services will be held privately.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Cromwell-Immordino Memorial Home, 2560 Pennington Rd., Pennington, NJ.