Roland Foster Miller, Jr.

June 13, 1946 – March 4, 2021

Roland Foster Miller, Jr., 74 of Princeton, New Jersey, died peacefully on March 4th, 2021 after a short illness.

A masterful wordsmith, journalist, and teacher, Roland’s subtle wit and resourcefulness made him a welcomed and trusted friend. A New York Times editor for more than 40 years, he joined the Times in 1977 as its youngest member on the Metropolitan Desk. Retiring in 2009, he continued part-time at NYT with his last assignment editing the Op-Ed page on Christmas Eve. For 21 years he was an adjunct professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, where he co-founded the Columbia News Service. Prior to the Times he worked for the Staten Island Advance and the New York Post. The recipient of many journalism awards, he was often cited for respecting the melody of each writer’s voice.

Often seen with a book or Kindle in hand relaxing in the sun, he was a quiet, modest man with many talents. Whether playing sonatas by Chopin, Clementi, or Rachmaninoff, competing as a 3rd degree black belt in national karate tournaments, or researching distant ancestors like Charlemagne or Fulk, King of Jerusalem and the Count of Anjou, Roland, a.k.a. R.F. or Skip, always had a deep reverence for life and his fellow man.

As a member of The Society of The Cincinnati in The State of Connecticut, he was chairman of its Historical Donations Committee for the past four years; Lt. Governor and former secretary of The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New Jersey; a board member of The New England Society in the City of New York and chairman of The New England Society Book Awards. He was also a proud member of the Thomas Stanton Society. He was a longtime member of the NewsGuild of New York; the Silurian Press Club; The National Arts Club; The Bryn Mawr-Wellesley Book Sale; and a member of The Old Guard of Princeton New Jersey.

Born and raised in Sarasota, Florida, he is predeceased by his parents Mary and Roland Foster Miller and his dad Donald L. John. He is survived by his best friend and loving wife of 38 years Ireen Kudra-Miller, sisters Jodi John and partner Bill Bronson of Sarasota, Florida, Jill Mullins and husband Mike Donovan of Parrish, Florida, sister-in-law Karyn Coyne and
husband George Sterling Coyne of Upper Black Eddy, Pa., sister-in-law Tara Kudra of Princeton N.J., nephews Sgt. Mason Mullins of Ft. Campbell, KY, Miles Mullins of Atlanta, GA, Aunt Joan Tatum of Sarasota, Florida, and many loving cousins.

A memorial service celebrating Roland’s life is planned for the summer. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be sent to The Brain Tumor Research Fund for glioblastoma research at Penn Medicine: www.pennmedicine.org/BrainCancerResearch.

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Gabriel Stelian

Gabriel Stelian, 87, of Lawrenceville passed away on Sunday, March 7, 2021 at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center of Plainsboro, NJ. Gabriel was born in Arad, Romania, from which he escaped in 1966 along with his wife and son. They lived in Rome before coming to the U.S. in December of the same year to settle in the Philadelphia area.

Gabe was employed by Certain-Teed as a Manager of Industrial Engineering. He had a Masters in both Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and also taught at Drexel University. Gabe loved opera, having served on the board of the Princeton Festival for over a decade. He and his wife Judy saw Rigoletto over 180 times, but Gabe was actually most passionate about Wagner’s Ring Cycle, having visited Bayreuth for their Wagner Festival several times. He and Judy traveled extensively and enjoyed classical music concerts and theater in addition to opera. As a lover of language, Gabe spoke seven of them.

Predeceased by his parents Ernest and Elena Seidner, he is survived by his wife Judy, son Peter, daughter-in-law Hélène, and granddaughters Bianca and Indigo. Gabe — in all his stubborn, wry, opinionated, erudite, honest complexity — will be remembered and forever loved. And so he lives on.

Burial will be in Princeton Cemetery on Wednesday March 10, 2021 at 3 p.m. with an outdoor service. Coffee will be served at the Stelian residence after the ceremony.

Memorial donations in lieu of flowers may be made in Gabe’s name to the following: The Princeton Festival, American Cancer Society, and American Heart Association.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Star of David Memorial Chapel of Princeton.

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Michael Strumpen-Darrie

The family of Michael Strumpen-Darrie announces his passing with sorrow. Michael died at home on March 3, 2021, in Princeton, NJ, from complications of Alzheimer’s.

Michael grew up in Pelham and Larchmont in Westchester. He attended Iona High School, Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland, and Ecole des Roches in France. He learned Italian, Spanish, and Japanese in addition to French and German. He earned a BS in Languages at Georgetown University, a Masters in Business Administration at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Masters in Linguistics at the University of Michigan.

He began working at the, then family owned, Berlitz School of Languages when he was 16, working there for over 50 years. He led the development of new curriculum and programs in language instruction for a worldwide network of 300 language schools.

Michael met his wife Ann in a constitutional law class at Georgetown and their young college love lasted through over 55 years of marriage. They have two children: Christine Strumpen-Darrie and Beth Jackson (married to Mark Jackson); and grandchildren Sophie Raglan, Francois Grinda, and Emma and Logan Jackson.   Michael truly enjoyed his children and delighted in his grandchildren.

Michael was an accomplished athlete.  He was a tennis champ in high school, a competitive water skier, beautiful snow skier, and an adventurous snowboarder. He also was very handy, maintaining many rental properties over the years. 

Michael had a great sense of humor, keen intellect, strong work ethic, and commitment to family.  He was a really unique guy, who left a fun and loving impression on everyone who met him.

When the pandemic is no longer a risk, friends will receive an email with information regarding a memorial mass followed by a reception at the house. For further information or to send the family a condolence, please visit https://bradleyfuneralhomes.com/michael-strumpen-darrie.