Sonia B. Osborne

On Sunday October 31, 2021, Sonia Butcher Osborne of Duxbury, MA, passed away at age 92. Born in Sussex, England, Sonia moved with her parents and her sister to the United States before WWII, and settled in Chatham, NJ, where she went to high school.

She met her husband, Richard G. Osborne, on the Jersey Shore, and they were married for over 70 years. They traveled the world together and made homes along the way in New Jersey, Ohio, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, Michigan, and Athens, Greece, before retiring in Savannah, GA, and then relocating to Barnstable, MA, and eventually Duxbury. Richard and Sonia had four children, all of whom survive her:  Bruce Osborne of Augusta, ME; Rod Osborne of Cambridge, MA; Julie Ladky (Jim Ladky) of Mequon, WI; and Jennifer Prescott (Christopher Prescott) of Norwalk, CT. They also were thrilled to rejoice in six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Sonia was both elegant and humble throughout her life, and is dearly missed for her kindness, her love of family, and her wonderful laugh, which could sneak up out of nowhere to fill a room. She was an avid lifelong gardener, an ardent environmentalist, and a self-taught archaeologist who worked on digs all over the world, including Peru, Ireland, Egypt, Arizona, and England. For years, Sonia kept the following quotation about dying on her writing desk — it gave her some comfort following the death of her father in 1987, as it gives her family comfort today:

What is Dying?
Bishop Charles Henry Brent (1862-1929)
I am standing on the seashore.
A ship sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean.
She is an object and I stand watching her
Till at last she fades from the horizon,
And someone at my side says, “She is gone!” Gone where?
Gone from my sight, that is all;
She is just as large in the masts, hull and spars as she was when I saw her,
And just as able to bear her load of living freight to its destination.
The diminished size and total loss of sight is in me, not in her;
And just at the moment when someone at my side says, “She is gone”,
There are others who are watching her coming,
And other voices take up a glad shout,
“There she comes” – and that is dying.

———

Mary Rose Weiland

Mary Rose Weiland of Skillman, NJ, died peacefully on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, after a long illness. She was 86 years old. 

Mary Rose was born in New Haven, CT, on May 23, 1935 to Dr. Paul and Mrs. Esther McAlenney. Mary Rose was an accomplished scholar at Wellesley College and at Yale University, where she earned a master’s degree in 1957. She taught school for several years, both before her marriage in 1960 and after.

When she was blessed with children she devoted her life to them, and their achievements are testimony to her effectiveness as a loving mother. She was unswerving in her dedication to them, and her ready smile when they came to visit was always evidence that they were her most treasured accomplishment.

Mary Rose’s intellectual curiosity was unlimited. When she and her husband moved to New Jersey in 1994 she reveled in auditing undergraduate courses at Princeton University. She was an avid reader and even studied the Chinese and Japanese banking systems because, in her words, “I knew nothing about them.” 

She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Peter Weiland; three sons and their spouses, Peter and Shannon, Paul and Marcy, and Stanley and Heather; seven grandchildren, Liam, Maddy, Kate, Abby, Eva, Teddy, and Hunter; her sister, Katherine Lazo and her husband Ted and their children and grandchildren.

Arrangements were under the direction of the Hillsborough Funeral Home, Hillsborough, NJ. 

All who knew Mary Rose respected her and she will be sorely missed.

———

Lois (Feola) Mennello

Lois (Feola) Mennello, 82, of Princeton, NJ, passed away on Tuesday, November 2, 2021.

Born in Elizabeth, NJ, she attended Battin High School.

Lois was a long-term and faithful employee at Educational Testing Services for 24 years before her retirement.

She was predeceased by the love of her life, Albert Mennello (February 11, 2021), whom she married on October 1, 1977, her parents John and Carmela (Bellomo) Feola, and her sister Dolores Gorsky. She is survived by her sister, Jean Parenti, four nephews, a niece, two great-nephews, and four great-nieces.

Funeral services were held on Monday, November 8, 2021 in Kimble Funeral Home, Princeton, NJ. Burial was in St. Paul Parish Cemetery, Princeton, NJ.

Extend condolences and share memories at TheKimbleFuneralHome.com.

———

Rosella Victoria Venier Kok

Rosella Victoria Venier Kok, 87, of New York, NY, passed away on Wednesday, November 11, 2021, at Weill Cornell Medical Center surrounded by her loving family.

Rosella was born and raised in Princeton, NJ. She attended St. Paul’s Grammar School, Princeton High School, and graduated from Trenton’s Cathedral High School for Girls. Before she entered college, she worked for a brief period of time at the Federal Reserve Bank and New York University (NYU). At NYU, she earned a Bachelor of Science in English. After marrying the love of her life, Hans Kok, Rosella continued with her education while caring for her two young children. She attended Teachers College, Columbia University where she earned a Master of Arts and a Master of Education.

Rosella had a very rewarding career as a school psychologist at the NYC Board of Education where she worked for 20 years. Her initial appointment was working as an Educational Evaluator on the Committee for the Handicapped. She was later assigned to schools in the South Bronx as a member of their School Based Support Team (SBST). After several years she transferred to District 4 in Upper Manhattan as the SBST team’s School Psychologist. From 1988-1995, she also served as the Manhattan Chapter Representative for The School Psychologist, a publication of the New York Association of School Psychologists where she published several articles.

Before she retired, she was granted a year sabbatical to visit and study early childhood programs in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Alaska, and Israel. When she returned from her cherished studies and adventures, she shared these experiences with other educators in various workshops. At the conclusion of her career she reminisced on how fortunate she was to have followed a path in life guided by her faith and passion for childhood education. She was devoted to helping children develop their self-confidence to improve their learning skills by providing a caring and compassionate educational experience especially to those who needed special attention. She loved her students and made a real difference in so many lives in her career and her personal life. She said, “It was a privilege and time well spent, always to be remembered with feelings of deeply felt gratitude.”

Rosella was a tennis enthusiast her entire life. She was on her high school’s varsity tennis team and continued to play throughout most of her life. When she retired, she traveled the tennis circuit and attended the Australian Open, the French Open, and Wimbledon as well as attending the U.S. Open many times. She also enjoyed sailing, camping, and traveling with her family and had a passion for art and writing. Family was very important to Rosella. She loved spending time with her family, taking part in holiday traditions and celebrating special occasions. She had a gift for writing the most beautiful loving, caring and supportive letters. It brought her great joy to create, write, and decorate beautiful cards for her friends and family. She also enjoyed meeting new friends and would strike up a conversation with everyone she met with many turning into lifelong friendships. She has a unique sense of humor and wit and loved to make others smile and laugh. She also had a special love for animals throughout her life and adored her sweet dog, Gabby, who brought her so much joy and love.

Rosella was a very special person to so many. We will miss her so very, very much and feel blessed to have had her in our lives. She will live on in the hearts of all of those to whom she meant so much.

She is predeceased by her parents Mario Venier and Jennie Tunning and her brother John Venier.

Rosella is survived by her husband Hans Kok, her daughter Karen Kok, her son and daughter-in-law George and Lisa Kok, her beloved grandchildren Nicholas and Pippa Kok and Tory Schatz who fondly called her Nana Ro, and her dog Gabby.

A memorial visitation was held on Sunday, November 14, 2021, at Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton, NJ. Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Monday, November 15, 2021, at St Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, 216 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Weill Cornell Medical Center (https://s010.med.cornell.edu/wcmc/make-a-donation.html).