LaVerne Edna Deik Hebert

LaVerne Edna Deik Hebert of Kendall Park, NJ, concluded a life well lived at the age of 95 as she passed away on January 8, 2019. The youngest of several children by hard working German parents, LaVerne was a lifelong resident of NJ, and is the last of her generation. She is survived by a niece Caroline Bradbury of Vadnais Heights, MN, and nephew William Dodds of Livingston, NJ. 

A graduate of the School of Nursing, Presbyterian Hospital, LaVerne was trained as a Registered Nurse and worked in the Radiology Department. In 1957, she married Jules Hebert and together they ventured into the printing business, purchasing The Copy Cat in Montgomery Township. Upon Jules’ early death, LaVerne took over the company located in Research Park, Princeton, and it became LDH Printing. The business thrived under LaVerne’s careful control and strict quality standards. She printed stationery and business cards for hundreds of local businesses, so her connections in the community were wide and varied. LaVerne was known for bringing in young folks to work with her. She served as a role model, demonstrating dedication and the work ethic that she was known for. A scholarship is provided every year to a Montgomery High School student in memory of LaVerne’s husband. 

LaVerne was a committed community volunteer serving as the Treasurer of The Rocky Hill Fire Company for decades. She belonged to Soroptimist International and the Present Day Club of Princeton. LaVerne was an original member of the Princeton Medical Center Auxiliary, serving on the board for many years. She ran the coffee and gift shop in the original hospital. LaVerne was best known for her leadership in organizing the White Elephant Rummage Sale which raised significant funds for the hospital and was one of the longest running events in the community, held annually for 100 years. 

LaVerne will be missed by many people in our community. Her positive spirit and can-do attitude were an inspiration not to be forgotten. The burial will be private, however a Memorial Service will be held in the upcoming months to celebrate the life of LaVerne Hebert, a life well lived. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Christ the King Lutheran Church in Kendall Park or The Rocky Hill Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1. 

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Walter Scott Blomeley

Walter Scott Blomeley, formerly of Sullivan, Illinois, passed away peacefully on Thursday, January 10th, 2019 at Greenbriar Nursing Home in Bradenton, Florida, at the age of 91. Visitation will be Thursday, January 17th from 5 to 7 p.m. at Reed Funeral Home in Sullivan. Funeral services will be Friday, January 18th at 10:30 a.m. at Reed Funeral Home, with internment and military rites conducted by Sullivan American Legion Post 68 afterwards at Greenhill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the Wounded Warriors Project in Scott’s memory. Online condolences may be sent to the family at reedfunerahome.net.

Scott was born on February 6th, 1927 in Brooklyn, New York, to Ralph and Marion Hillard Blomeley. As a young man, Scott attended Farragut Naval Academy in New Jersey. While there he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. In 1945, Scott served in the Pacific after the end of World War II. Scott later attended Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. While attending Tulane, he was called back into service to fight in the Korean War. During his time in Korea, Scott was listed as Missing in Action while engaged in fighting as one of the “Chosin Few.” Scott was a highly-decorated veteran of the USMC, receiving the bronze star and three purple hearts.

After returning from Korea, Scott worked for his father’s company, Blomeley Engineering, in New York. He married Jane Harmon on September 18th, 1954 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and lived in Princeton, New Jersey. Scott was an active member of the Princeton community; volunteering to coach JFL, serving on the First Aid and Rescue Squad, Princeton and Kingston Fire Districts, and helping start an “Up with People” group.

In 1974, Scott moved his family to Sullivan, Illinois. He worked as a pipe fitter at Clinton Power Plant until his retirement. Scott served on the Sullivan School Board, was on the Sullivan Fire Protection Squad, and was well known for being “Santa Claus” in Sullivan and elsewhere. He and his wife, Jane, also enjoyed helping at Shelby County Community Services. He was an active member of the VFW, DAV, KWVA, American Legion, and the Marine Corps League.

Scott was a very loving, jovial, and caring person, with a zest for life. He will be missed by his family and many friends. Surviving are his children Betty Jane Boyer (Ben) of Bethany, Illinois; Kathryn Ann Cantrall (Don) of Springfield, Illinois; Cynthia Lee Selby (John) of Shelbyville, Illinois; and Scott Harmon Blomeley (Marsha) of Sarasota, Florida. Also surviving are eight grandchildren, Shannon Patterson (JP), Blake Crockett (Jana), April Reagan (Zac), Sarah Nichols (Zach), Nicholas Selby, Nathan Nielson, Miles Cantrall, Amy Cantrall; and six great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; first wife, Jane, in 2007; and his second wife, Barbara, in 2016. The family would like to thank Greenbriar staff for their care and friendship.

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Stuart Joseph Bellows

Stuart Joseph Bellows, born December 29, 1931, died without warning at the home he shared with his loving and devoted partner of 35 years, Gerald Mushinski, in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico on December 28th, the eve of his 87th birthday.

A born musician, had an unusual childhood, both raising chickens, which included selling eggs to Albert Einstein, and practicing the piano or organ two hours a day! (When in high school, his devoted parents bought him a pipe organ, which required tearing out the staircase in order to install it in his bedroom.)  A graduate of Princeton High School, he attended the Yale School of Music before receiving a B.A. from Wesleyan University. He studied at the North German Organ Academy with Harold Vogel, and received a Master’s Degree from New York University Business School. Stuart then joined his parents at Bellows, Inc., their retail clothing store in Princeton, where he eventually became proprietor until he sold the business in the 1980s.

He was very engaged in the arts in Princeton, as former board member of The Westminster Choir College, and of the McCarter Theatre. In the mid-nineties, he and Gerald moved to San Miguel where he had wonderful friends and an active life.

Stuart is survived by his sister, Phyllis Bellows Wender, her husband Ira Wender, five nieces and nephews, ten grand-nieces and nephews, and many cousins. Especially cherished is Francine Greenberg Carlie. It is yet to be determined if there will be a memorial service. If so, it will be announced here.

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Mary Balogh Hultse

Mary Balogh Hultse, 92, formerly of Princeton, passed away on December 10, 2018, in Flushing, New York. A warm, bubbly person, she had an encouraging word for all she met – from maintenance men to store clerks to people on the street.

As a successful advertising executive at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Mary Hultse commuted to Princeton from an apartment on the Upper West Side, where she was a regular at Riverside Church. Then she bought a second apartment, a fourth-floor corner walkup on Palmer Square, so that she could look out over Princeton University and enjoy walking around town. She retired in 1990.

With a passion for the arts – she loved to sing, act, and dance – she joined local theater groups and played Aunt Eller in Oklahoma at Washington Crossing. She was beloved by the staff at Richardson Auditorium, where she volunteered as an usher. Devoutly faithful, she enthusiastically participated in the life of Princeton United Methodist Church (PrincetonUMC) and was in charge of the altar guild. She reveled in her Hungarian heritage and loved Nora and Edina Ban, daughters of Tomas Ban and Ildiko Rosz, as if they were her grandchildren. 

Mary insisted on seeing the best in everyone. This served her well when, in her 70s, her memory failed to keep up with her very stubborn determination to chart her own course. Her many admirers — including a 10-member team from PrincetonUMC, the Ban family, social workers at Princeton Senior Resource Center, and Palmer Square staff — rallied to help with all aspects of daily life so that a charming elder could stay independent for as long as she could. Then she was cared for in her brother’s Long Island home before transitioning to a senior living facility.

Predeceased by her parents, Anna and John Balogh, and her brother, John Balogh Jr., she is survived by her nephew (John Frank Balogh), her niece (Nancy Ann Balogh) and Margaret Krach (Nancy’s wife, who cared for Mary in her later years), and also her special friends, Tomas Ban and Ildiko Rosz.    

A memorial service will be at Princeton United Methodist Church, 7 Vandeventer Avenue, on Monday, January 21, at 1 p.m. Everyone who knew Mary is invited to this celebration of her life and to a reception afterward.

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Lynne (Lyn) Marcia Ransom

Lynne (Lyn) Marcia Ransom of Hopewell Township, a lifelong musician and composer whose spunk, generosity, and intellect transcended genres and generations, stepped down from the conductor’s podium on December 14, 2018, at age 71.

Lyn was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., and raised in Martinsville, Ind., where her family nurtured in her a love for music and education. A graduate of Oberlin College, she followed her passions wherever they led, including teaching at universities, writing early childhood curriculum for the HighScope Foundation, directing music at the Princeton United Methodist Church, and hitchhiking to India, where she studied sitar for a year with Vilayat Kahn. Lyn later earned graduate degrees at Eastern Michigan University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Cincinnati, where she received a Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting.

In 1987, Lyn founded Voices Chorale, a Princeton-area ensemble that toured Europe three times and premiered dozens of new works. She also served as a guest conductor throughout the region. In 1992, Lyn was honored by the Princeton, N.J. Arts Council for her outstanding contributions to the area’s cultural life and in 2007 by the YWCA Tribute to Women. In 2017, Chorus America awarded its Education and Community Engagement Award to Voices, citing how it “exemplifies the highest commitment to education and outreach programs.” Unique among these is Lyn’s Young Composers Project in which over 500 elementary school children have created compositions and heard them performed by Voices.

After three decades as artistic director, Lyn celebrated her retirement as she conducted the Voices Chorale and full orchestra in a stirring performance of Johannes Brahms’ “A German Requiem.”

In 1998, Lyn began working with Music Together, the internationally acclaimed early childhood music program, first directing their lab school, then teacher training and certification, and finally co-authoring an adaptation for preschool. Lyn’s work has touched millions of children around the world through this program — which she got to experience first-hand as a grandma!

Diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2005, Lyn’s creative response was key to her ongoing recovery: she began composing “Cancer Coping Songs,” using humor and music for alleviation. Even after the cancer returned in 2014, Lyn thrived for years, writing and performing more Cancer Coping Songs, conducting major works with Voices, and being a loving wife, mother, sister and grandmother.

She died peacefully in her home, with her husband at her side.

Predeceased by her parents, Hugh Wrislar and Audrey Faye (Banta) Ransom, Lyn is survived by her husband, Kenneth K. Guilmartin; her son, Coray Seifert and his wife, Katie; her daughter, Sophia Seifert and her husband, Dan Lopez-Braus; her stepdaughter, Lauren Kells Guilmartin and her husband, James Barry; her grandchildren, Jackson and Alicia Seifert; her sister, Gail Sandra Ransom; her sister, Janice (Ransom) Kerchner and her husband, Jim Kerchner; and many nieces and nephews.

A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, January 26, 2019, at 2 p.m., at Trinity Church in Princeton, NJ, located at 33 Mercer Street.

Contributions designated for the Young Composers Project Fund may be made to Voices Chorale NJ.