Charles William Gear

Charles William Gear, widely known as Bill, a prominent computer scientist particularly known for his work in numerical analysis, died in Princeton, New Jersey, on March 15 at the age of 87.

Born February 1, 1935 to working-class parents in London, he studied at Cambridge University on a full scholarship. There, he “read” mathematics, but if you believe his own stories, he apparently spent most of his time in a scull, rowing on the Cam. Upon graduation in 1956, with Fulbright and Johnson Foundation support, he headed to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to learn about computers, still in the early stages of development. Initially intending to stay only for a year, he remained to earn a mathematics Ph.D. in 1960. Upon completing his degree, he went to work at IBM British Laboratories in Hursley. 

Two years later, he returned to the University of Illinois, where he rose through the faculty ranks from assistant professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics to full professor in 1969 and, in 1985, head of the computer science department, as well as professor of Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, and Electrical and Computer Engineering.

In 1990 he was named vice president of the computer science research division at the nascent NEC Research Institute in Princeton, New Jersey.  There, he established its computer division, and two years later became president of the Institute, which also supported physics research.

After retiring in 2000, he soon became a part-time senior scientist at Princeton University, where he continued research work, primarily with associates in the Chemical and Biological Engineering department.

A fellow of the National Academy of Engineering from 1991, he was elected five years later a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1987 he received an honorary doctorate from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Also a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, in 1987-88 he had served as president of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

In his free time, he regularly attended concerts, operas, and plays. He also enjoyed sailing, tennis, New York Times crossword puzzles, parties, and, above all, travel to destinations around the world.

He leaves his partner of 50 years, wife Ann Lee Morgan, an art historian; a daughter, K. Jodi Gear of Butte, Montana, and son, Christopher, of Reno, Nevada, both from an earlier marriage to Sharon Smith; four grandchildren; and a sister, Kate Redding, in England.

———

Richard J. Levine

Richard J. Levine, 80, of Princeton passed away Monday, March 21, 2022 at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center of Plainsboro after a brief battle with cancer.

A loving son, husband, father, grandfather, and brother; a dedicated, honored first lieutenant in the United States Army; and a nationally recognized journalist and publishing executive, Richard was born in New York City in 1942.

He attended Cornell University, where he attained a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations in 1962. He received a master’s degree in Journalism from Columbia University in 1963 and was awarded a Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship from 1963-64.

He then served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army from 1964-66 and was the recipient of the Army Commendation Medal.

He spent his entire professional career working for Dow Jones & Company, Inc., first as a reporter and columnist for the Wall Street Journal, covering labor, economics, and the military. Later he served as an executive, rising to the position of Vice President and Executive Editor of Dow Jones Newswires. After retiring as an active employee in 2006, he spent the next 15 years in a philanthropic role as the President of the Board of Directors of the Dow Jones News Fund, which aims to train the next generation of journalists.

He was an avid tennis player and active in supporting the arts in the Princeton community. He served on the boards of numerous local nonprofit organizations, including National Junior Tennis & Learning of Trenton, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, and McCarter Theatre for the Performing Arts.

Richard is predeceased by his parents, Irving J. and Dorothy (Thome) Levine. He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Neil Ann (Stuckey) Levine; two sons and daughters-in-law, Jonathan and Elizabeth Levine, Russell and Susan Levine; a sister and brother-in-law, Nancy and Peter Castro; and five grandchildren, Emma, Caroline, Andrew, Trevor, and Lindsay.

A visitation will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. on Monday, April 4, 2022, at Mather Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08542. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, April 4, 2022, at Mather Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08542. Burial will follow in Washington Crossing National Cemetery, 830 Highland Road Newtown, PA 18940.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: National Junior Tennis and Learning of Trenton (njtloftrenton.org/donate) or Dow Jones News Fund (dowjonesnewsfund.org/donate/)

———

Caitlin Ward Schuele

Caitlin Ward Schuele, born February 28, 1952, in Rockville Centre, New York, passed away on Tuesday, March 15 at her home in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire. She battled Lymphoma, an unwelcome guest, that developed unexpectedly.

Caitlin Schuele was reared in Princeton, New Jersey, a daughter of Elaine W. Schuele and Norman A. Schuele Jr. In her formative years she was educated there. Upon graduating from Princeton High School, she matriculated with the Class of 1974 at Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida.

Her studies were her pursuit and it had been said she was never seen without a book in hand. Lawrence Thompson, the traveling companion and confidant of Robert Frost, and who was his Pulitzer Prize Biographer, became Caitlin’s mentor saying she was the best read young lady he’s ever come across while persuading her to transfer to the University of New Hampshire to major in English. He had been the Curator of Rare Books at The Princeton University Library. After graduating from UNH Caitlin obtained a master’s degree in Reading and the Language Arts from Rider College, Lawrenceville, NJ.

Caitlin’s dedication to mastering the English language was her foundation for a noteworthy career in education. She became the Headmistress of the Princeton Academy, Princeton, New Jersey. Under her tutelage the Princeton Academy became Chartered by the State of New Jersey. It taught adolescents who were cognitively impaired with either visual impairments, a behavioral disorder causing an intellectual disability and / or an auditory deficiency. The role she undertook was to oversee that the school would advance the aspirations of each student by bettering their academic performance and social development.

Later Caitlin’s career path was as a high school English teacher at Triton Regional High School in Runnemede, New Jersey. She also assisted coaching tennis. As at the Princeton Academy, her devotion to her students’ well-being at Triton Regional, and in her success to teach them, shortly was recognized by the faculty, the parents, and the Board of Education. In a high school that had more than 1,100 students enrolled, with the necessary support staff of educational professionals, Caitlin was awarded the recognition by the Board of Education as the Teacher of the Year. Caitlin’s career as an educator became sidelined due to family illness.

Returning to her parents’ home in Cornish, New Hampshire, her intellectual interest to learn was not set aside. Under the auspices of the NH Vocational Rehabilitation, Dept. of Education, she learned Braille so that she might be helpful in future years. Meanwhile, Caitlin worked marketing her brother’s antique business. When she was in NYC being introduced to his contacts, she and George Soros entertained one another talking about things of the past — period French antiques of the 17th and 18th centuries. Antiques were to her an interesting reflection based on history, somewhat dormant though cast in heritage. Her appreciation of the present always was being enlivened by flowers, the composition of gardens and landscape architecture. Her flower gardens framed by built rock walls had been included at one point on the Cornish, NH, garden tour.

Because the family home was sold Caitlin relocated to Ocala, Florida, to associate herself with Jane Schuele Booth in her aunt’s thoroughbred and realty businesses. When events caused change, she moved north to Pisgah Forest, North Carolina, southwest of Asheville. Here, on a mountainous landscape commanding an unobstructed panoramic vista with a 531’ waterfall, Caitlin’s pleasure to nurture nature’s beauty created a contoured landscape using just shy of 300 flowering shrubs. All these needed to be cultivated and watered for many years. However, after five years for various personal and business reasons she along with her English Setters went back to the state where she had been familiar, New Hampshire.

She is survived by one brother residing in Sugar Hill, NH, and an older sister and brother-in-law who reside in Topeka, Kansas. First cousins live in Belmont, MA, Buffalo, NY, Scottsdale, Arizona, and Ventura County, California. Services will be private.

To view an online memorial and/or send a message of condolence to the family, please visit rand-wilson.com.