José Barros-Neto
1927-2020

José Barros-Neto, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, died peacefully at his home in Novi, Michigan, on January 14, 2020. He was a consummate mathematician for 92 years and enjoyed a fulfilling career at Rutgers for 31 years until his retirement on January 1, 2000. Math was in his bones, and not one of his four children or four grandchildren could turn 7, 11, 13, 17, and so on without being reminded that they were celebrating a “prime” birthday.

He received his Ph.D. in 1960 from Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, where he met his beloved wife of 70 years, Iva Borsari Barros. In his early career, he studied at the Sorbonne, and Yale University. He was named a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow in 1961 and 1962 in Field of Mathematics, Latin America & Caribbean. Research, teaching, and three growing girls occupied his time at Brandeis University, the University of Montreal, Rochester Institute of Technology, and back to the University of São Paulo. His long career at Rutgers began in 1968, when the family settled in Princeton, NJ, and a son soon followed. He was honored to take sabbaticals at the Institute for Advanced Studies, in Fall 1971 and 1989-1990. He was dedicated to his research interests in functional analysis, and partial differential equations. He valued his many friends and collaborators in the field of mathematics.

José’s family was truly a Rutgers family. His wife, Iva, earned her Master’s Degree in French Literature at Rutgers University. All four of his children, and one son-in-law, graduated from a Rutgers University affiliated college. During his tenure at Rutgers, José authored four books, College Algebra and Trigonometry with Applications, An Introduction to the Theory of Distributions (Pure and Applied Mathematics), Hypoelliptic Boundary-Value Problems (Lecture Notes in Pure and Applied Mathematics) and College Algebra with Applications. His textbooks became quite popular with students. José was particularly proud to hear from a student in China who had obtained a copy of An Introduction to the Theory of Distributions and was finally able to understand the concept. That student became a mathematician and was inspired to translate the book into Chinese.

José was an avid soccer fan, in particular, Brazilian soccer. He enjoyed traveling in the United States and abroad. Reading, painting, gardening, and classical music were among his diverse interests. José, and his family, enjoyed spending relaxing summers in Cape Cod, and later, Martha’s Vineyard. This was where he would reconnect with collegial friends. He loved the quiet beauty of Martha’s Vineyard and featured his favorite spots in several figures in his books.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Iva, who passed away peacefully on November 30, 2019 at their home in Michigan. He is survived by his four children, Carmen, Claudia, Marilia, and André; their spouses, Jack, Tom, Michael, and Marlena; and four wonderful grandchildren, Colin, Kevin, Alexandria, and James. José is also survived by his loving family in Brazil, his brother and two sisters, and their families. Should friends desire, memorial contributions may be sent to The American Mathematical Society, www.ams.org/giving/ways-to-give/in-honor-of or the Institute for Advanced Study, www.ias.edu/support/ways-give.

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Iva Borsari Barros

1928-2019

Iva Borsari Barros, longtime Princeton resident, died peacefully at her home in Novi, Michigan, on November 30, 2019. She enjoyed a long, fulfilling life with her husband of 70 years, José Barros-Neto, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Rutgers University. Together they raised three daughters and a son, enjoyed three grandsons and a granddaughter, traveled extensively in the United States and abroad, and enjoyed many relaxing summers in Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard.

In the late 1940s, while an undergraduate at Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, Iva met her future husband José. Being the more outgoing of the two, she approached him! After graduation, she worked as a primary school teacher in São Paulo until the birth of her first daughter, Carmen. Within two years, they had traveled to France, where José studied at the Sorbonne. They returned to Brazil and had two more daughters, Claudia, followed in quick succession by Marilia. In 1960, after José received his Ph.D., the family moved to the United States. They lived in Boston, MA, Montreal, Canada, Rochester, NY, and back to São Paulo, Brazil, while José honed his skills as a mathematician. Iva provided the loving support and began to hone her skills as a chef, aided by her hero, Julia Child. In the fall of 1968, they settled permanently in Princeton. Their son, André, was born soon after and the family was complete.

Iva was a lifelong educator and a linguist fluent in five languages, Portuguese, French, Spanish, Italian, and English. While her children were still in school, she worked as a translator. Seeing the need for private language lessons and translation services in this area, she co-founded the Princeton Language Group with two of her multilingual colleagues. She loved being a French language substitute teacher in the Princeton public school system. While her youngest was still a baby, Iva began attending Rutgers University and obtained a Master’s Degree in French Literature. The Barros family was a Rutgers family through and through. All four children graduated from a Rutgers University affiliated college, as well as one son-in-law. Later in life, Iva worked as a real estate agent, specializing in assisting business professionals who were transferring to the United States from other countries.

Iva was a beautiful and el egant woman, always impeccably dressed. She loved to cook from her favorite cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Dinner time in the Barros household was usually a home cooked, gourmet meal. Her children’s neighborhood friends often scheduled help with math homework from José, in the hope that they would get invited for dinner. She enjoyed making homemade pasta, particularly ravioli, and recreating indescribably delicious Brazilian desserts. A family tradition was baking and painstakingly decorating Christmas cookies. Sometimes they looked too good to eat! She was also a crafter who passed on her skills in sewing, knitting, crocheting and embroidery to her children. She grew beautiful house plants and enjoyed literature and the opera. Several times a year, she and José would travel to New York City to attend plays and the opera.

Iva predeceased her beloved husband, José, by six weeks. She is survived by her four children, Carmen, Claudia, Marilia, and André; their spouses, Jack, Tom, Michael, and Marlena; and four amazing grandchildren, Colin, Kevin, Alexandria, and James. She is also survived by her two sisters in Brazil and their families. Should friends desire, memorial contributions may be sent to The American Diabetes Association, www.diabetes.org/donate/donate-memorial or UNICEF USA, https://donate.unicefusa.org/page/contribute.

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Stanley J. Stein

Stanley J. Stein, the Walter Samuel Carpenter III Professor in Spanish Civilization and Culture, and Professor of History, Emeritus, died Dec. 19, 2019, at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center following a very brief illness. He was 99.

A scholar of Brazilian and Mexican history and 18th century Spain, Stein and his wife, Barbara Hadley Stein, wrote extensively on Latin American and Spanish economic and social history and the legacies of colonialism and slavery. Stein served as the inaugural director of Princeton’s Program in Latin American Studies, which he led for nine years.

Stein was born on June 8, 1920 in New York City, the son of Jewish European immigrants from Russian Poland and Ukraine, Joseph Louis Stein and Rose Epstein. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School, and went on to graduate in 1941 from the City College of New York with a B.A in comparative literature. He began graduate school at Harvard University, initially studying romance languages and literature, and traveled to Brazil for research. There in 1942 he met Barbara Hadley (1916-2005), who was researching her doctoral research on the abolition of slavery in Brazil. Stein enlisted in the US Navy in 1943 where he served as communications officer. Before deploying overseas, he married Barbara Hadley in September of 1943. When demobilized after the war, he returned to Harvard and decided to study history as a student of Clarence Haring, one of the leading figures in Latin American history. During this time, the Steins had their three children. Stein returned to Brazil to work on his dissertation on the coffee-growing region of Brazil, Vassouras. Six months later, he was joined by his wife and two older children. After obtaining his doctorate, he was a research fellow for the Research Center for Entrepreneurial History at Harvard. In 1953 Stein joined the history department of Princeton University from which he retired in 1989 and continued to engage in active research and publication until shortly before his death.

While teaching undergraduate and graduate students at Princeton, Stein published  Vassouras: A Brazilian Coffee County, 1850-1900: The Roles of Planter and Slave in a Plantation Society (1957) which is considered a classic social and economic study of the origins, apogee, and decline of coffee production in Brazil. The Steins’ collaboration produced a series of books, including The Colonial Heritage of Latin America: Essays on Economic Dependence in Perspective (1970), which began as a series of lectures to high school teachers and was then expanded into a widely assigned book in undergraduate history classes. Their major four-volume study, Silver, trade, and war: Spain and America in the making of early modern Europe (2000), Apogee of empire: Spain and New Spain in the age of Charles III, 1759–1789 (2003), Edge of crisis: War and trade in the Spanish Atlantic, 1789–1808 (2009), and Crisis in the Atlantic Empire: Spain and New Spain 1808-1810 (2014) was published during Stein’s retirement. Stein also is co-author with Roberto Cortés Conde of “Latin America, a Guide to Economic History, 1830-1930.”

Stein was a two-time recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. He received the Bolton Prize and the Robertson Prize from the Conference on Latin American History of the American Historical Association. He was a member of the board of editors and advisory board for the Hispanic American Historical Review and the board of editors for the Journal of Economic History. Stein also was a member of the joint committee on Latin American Studies of the Social Science Research Council. In 1996, he and Barbara Stein received the American Historical Association Award for Scholarly distinction.

In addition to his work, Stanley enjoyed numerous activities. His longstanding love of the outdoors included hiking with his family as well as walking daily in Princeton’s beautiful open spaces. With his family, he enjoyed restoring a small early 19th century cobbler’s home in Western Massachusetts, fondly called “The Shack.” In summer and fall, he felt restored when gazing out over fields and mountains. Stein participated actively in community and cultural life in Princeton and New York City. Sustaining the rich rewards of friendships across generations of students and colleagues was a major feature of his life. He and Barbara long supported diverse progressive causes and organizations. He will be treasured as loving, supportive, and deeply understanding of his family and friends.

He is survived by his children, Margot B. Stein and her husband, Harry L. Watson, of Chapel Hill, NC, Peter G. Stein and his wife, Kathleen R. Sims, of Philadelphia, PA, and Joelle H. Stein and her husband, Andrew J. McClurg of Belmont, MA, and four grandchildren, Camille R. Stein of Boston, MA, Adam S. Watson of Los Angeles, CA, Hannah L. S. Watson of Santa Rosa, CA, and Emma A. McClurg of San Francisco, CA. Doreen Larkai, Stanley’s constant caregiver and friend, has become a deeply loved member of the Stein family.

A Memorial service will be held on April 18, 2020 at the Princeton University Chapel at 10 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Stein’s memory may be made to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK), https://trentonsoupkitchen.org, the Princeton University Firestone Library, https://library.princeton.edu/firestone, and the Princeton Public Library https://princetonlibrary.org.

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William D. McKenna

William D. McKenna passed away on January 13, 2020, in Princeton, NJ, one month before his 93rd Valentine’s Day birthday on February 14th.

Bill was born in Orange, NJ, in 1927 to William A. McKenna and Mae M. McKenna (Adelmann). He grew up with his younger brother Robert in Bloomfield, NJ, where he spent a very happy childhood, with many friends and relatives, and summers at his uncle’s cottages in Bradley Beach. He graduated from High School in 1944, during WW II, and two months later enlisted in the U.S. Navy, was shipped to the Philippine Islands, and on his return enrolled in the University of Miami, graduating with a BA degree in business/economics. His education also included two years of New York Law School.

He worked for several aerospace industry corporations, such as ITT Laboratories and Singer Corporation. In 1966 he joined Grumman Aerospace Corporation in Bethpage, New York, as a subcontracts administrator and later Project Manager for major projects, including NASA shuttle and space station programs, involving many business trips to California, the Northwest, and Texas. From 1977-1985 he was assigned by Grumman to the TFTR Program at the Princeton Plasma Physics Labs and was responsible for the administration and procurement of a variety of projects. He retired from Grumman in 1994.

He met his wife, Lydia, on a shore weekend, and they were married in Spring Lake in September of 1977. They moved to Princeton in 1983, a few years after their daughter, Eva Maria, was born in New York City. During the years in the City, Bill loved theatre, ballet, Lincoln Center, and always enjoyed the annual Central Park concerts in the summer with friends. He organized family trips to California and Florida, as well as Switzerland and France, and always looked forward to the frequent visits to his wife’s family in Southwest Germany. Bill was an avid golfer in his younger years and later looked forward to his winter Florida excursions joining an old friend in playing his favorite sport. He was a loving father and best friend to his daughter, a cherished Pop Pop to his grandchildren, and took care of his widowed mother for close to 30 years. He had a passion and talent for his shore properties and managed them, before and after his retirement, for many years. Bill had a sharp wit, intuition, sense of humor, an exceptional memory, and loved storytelling and reading his daily newspapers and especially books on American History.

He is survived by his wife, Lydia, his daughter, Eva Maria McKenna, her husband Matthew Tramontana, his grandchildren Mason, Madeline and Mabel, his nieces and nephews (children of his brother Robert McKenna who predeceased him) Russ and Karen McKenna, Susan Caulder and husband Raymond and their children Raymond, Lizzie and Matthew, all of Charleston, S.C., as well as Stephen McKenna, his spouse Gina, and their children Ali, Gia and Ian, of Tyler, TX.

Funeral services were held at Nassau Presbyterian Church followed by interment at Princeton Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in William’s memory to the Princeton First Aid Squad.

Arrangements by Kimble Funeral Home, Princeton, NJ.

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Douglas E. Eveleigh

December 6, 1933 – December 30, 2019

It is with great sadness that we report that Douglas E. Eveleigh of Rocky Hill, NJ, an emeritus Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University, died on Dec. 30, 2019 of complications of a glioblastoma. Prof. Eveleigh served on the Rutgers faculty for 45 years, where he was known as an exceptionally fine teacher and scholar. Professor Eveleigh’s interests ranged broadly from applied microbiology (fermentation and degradation) to the history of science. Students loved his infectious humor and his skill at enlivening the study of microbiology on topics that ranged from alcohol fermentation to the generation of swamp gas. As a born leader, he reveled in pursuits of nature and science, and had additional passions for history, rugby, and magic.

Doug is survived by his beloved family: wife of 57 years, Linda (Sterenberg); their son Chris (and partner Kim Frisino-Hurst); their son Rob (and daughter-in-law Laura Robinson); and Paula Nolan, daughter-in-law and mother of their grandchildren, Douglas and William. He is predeceased by his parents Frederick R. and Winifred (Bray) Eveleigh, and sister Iris True; survived by siblings Brian, Gerald (and June), Mavis (and David) Hill of U.K., Hazel Vincent of Toronto, and several beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins (and families); and sister-in-law Gretchen R. Sterenberg of San Francisco.

In lieu of flowers a one-time contribution can be sent to Douglas Eveleigh Endowed Graduate Travel Award, Rutgers University Foundation, P.O. Box 193, New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0193. A Memorial Service will be held at 2:30 p.m. on March 28 at Kirkpatrick Chapel, New Brunswick, NJ.

A comprehensive obituary can be found at https://dbm.rutgers.edu/Douglas_Eveleigh_obit.htm.

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Jack Undank

Jack Undank, 91, of Princeton Junction, NJ, passed away on January 23, 2020 at his home. He taught in the French Department of Rutgers University for more than 40 years, retiring as Distinguished Professor in 1998. His career also included visiting professorships at Williams College and the University of California, Santa Barbara, and direction of an advanced scholarly seminar at the Folger Institute of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC. His teaching excellence was recognized not only by university awards, but also by the Shirley Bill Award from the American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies.

Jack was born on June 18, 1928 and grew up in the Bronx. He graduated from Taft High School and the City College of New York, then received an MA in Spanish from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in French from Harvard.

As a young man he was drawn to music and art. From a very early age he was a proficient abstract painter, creating works full of color and vivacity. He painted enthusiastically and inventively, experimenting with color.

His lifelong interest in French began in high school. As an adult, he loved visiting Paris, walking through the streets, enjoying the museums, making friends. In 1952-53 he spent a research year in Paris on a Fulbright Fellowship. For four years in the 1990s he and his partner, Alan Wilde, spent the month of May on the Île St. Louis.

Jack’s scholarship on French literature has remained central to his field for many decades. As one critic wrote, his seminal book Diderot: inside outside & in-between (1979) “rewards one richly with a cornucopia of surprising connections and insights.” He also edited two works of Diderot: Est-il bon? Est-il méchant? (1956) and Jacques le fataliste (1981) and wrote numerous essays on other eighteenth-century French figures such as Voltaire, Graffigny, Chardin, Rousseau, Beaumarchais, and Laclos. His essays were published in Eighteenth-Century Studies, French Forum, MLN, French Review, Boundary 2, SubStance, Studies on Voltaire in the 18th Century, Degré Second, Diderot Studies, and Modern Language Review.

Jack is survived by Alan Wilde, his partner for 71 years. They were married in 2013, as soon as same-sex marriage became legal in New Jersey.

Contributions in Jack’s memory may be made to Lambda Legal, to Deborah Hospital Foundation, or to the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies.

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Charles DiFalco

1924-2020

Charles DiFalco, 95, of Princeton died Tuesday, January 21, 2020 surrounded by his loving family at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, Plainsboro. Born in Isernia, Italy, he was the first of his family to immigrate to the United States in 1950. He has been a resident of Princeton for over 54 years.

Charles was a Prisoner of War in Germany for over 27 months during World War II, while serving in the Royal Italian Army. He was the owner-operator of Charles DiFalco Landscaping. He was a member of St. Paul’s Church and the Italian American Sportsman Club.

Son of the late Luigi and Maria (DiPerna) DiFalco, husband of the late Rose (Fasano) DiFalco, brother of the late Lucia Tamasi, Antonio DiFalco, Domenic DiFalco, he is survived by a son and daughter-in-law Louis and Darlene DiFalco; two daughters and a son-in-law Elena and Antonino Russo, Vincenzina DiFalco and her fiancée David Welsh; a brother and three sisters-in-law Cosmo and Peggy DiFalco, Carmella DiFalco, Pasqualina DiFalco; four grandchildren Vincent and his partner Alissa, Matthew and his wife Jillian, Anthony and his wife Leanne, Jennifer and her partner Kristin; two great-grandchildren Madelyn and Evelyn Russo; and several nieces and nephews.

The funeral was held on Saturday, January 25 at the Mather Hodge Funeral Home, followed by a Mass of Christian burial at Saint Paul’s Church, Princeton, and entombment in Franklin Memorial Park, North Brunswick.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Interventional Radiology at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, One Plainsboro Road, Plainsboro, NJ 08536.