Jotham Johnson

1942-2022

Jotham Johnson, a longtime resident of Blawenburg, NJ, died peacefully at home on Friday, April 22.

Jotham was born on September 15, 1942 in Key West, Florida, to Jotham Johnson Sr. and Sarah Jane Coates. He grew up in NYC and Sodus Point, NY. He attended the Grace Church School, and graduated from The Choate School, Princeton University, and Harvard Graduate School of Education. He was proud to be one of four generations to attend Princeton: his grandfather, Jotham Clarke Johnson M.D., Class of 1879; his father Jotham Johnson, Class of 1926; Jotham, Class of 1964; and his son, Jotham Thomas Johnson, Class of 2000. He majored in Romance Languages and European Studies — an interest since living in Rome with his parents as a boy. He excelled at sports and was the starting catcher on the winning baseball team all four years at Princeton University.

After discharge from the Marine Corps after 1967, he spent his life involved with fundraising, university administration, and alumni work — at RPI, Cornell, Recording for the Blind, Rutgers, and Princeton. Jo had over 30 years of service to Princeton University, culminating as Director of Leadership Gifts and then the inaugural Director of Stewardship, before retiring in 2010.

Jo’s devotion to Princeton continued in his volunteer activities as Secretary of his Class of ’64 for 35 years; Trustee of the Cap and Gown eating club for over 50 years; and inaugural secretary of the P.U. Hockey Association. He enjoyed meeting prospective students, even traveling across Canada to help recruit hockey players, many of whom he maintained relationships with throughout their undergraduate careers and beyond.

A past volunteer of the Blawenburg Fire Co., he was also a member of The Old Guard of Princeton and Springdale Golf Club. He was an avid reader of history and enjoyed golf and travel outings with his friends and classmates.

Jotham is survived by his wife of 50 years, Grace Tucker Butler and their three children: Alex and his wife Andrea, Tom and his wife Leigh Morrison, and their daughter Sarah Johnson and her husband Josh Hendrick. He was especially proud of his three grandchildren: Gabriel, Victoria, and Harper.

Jotham faithfully attended St. Charles Borromeo as well as the Blawenburg Church where his children were raised. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at the Blawenburg Reformed Church, 424 Route 518, Skillman, NJ 08558 (BlawenburgChurch.org) at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 11, with further celebration at the Cap and Gown Club, 61 Prospect Avenue, Princeton. In Jotham’s memory, contributions may be made to: Class of 1964 Scholarship Fund, Princeton University, attn. Helen Hardy, PO Box 5357, Princeton, NJ 08543.

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Robert Kingsley Abernethy

Robert “Bob” Kingsley Abernethy, previously a resident of Bethesda, MD, Princeton, NJ, and most recently Leesburg, VA, passed away in his 90th year peacefully on May 19, 2022 at INOVA Loudoun Hospital, Leesburg, VA. He is survived by his loving wife of 64 years, Jeanne Hauck Abernethy; children Lynn (J.) Prothero, John Abernethy, and Kathryn (Adam) Turner; grandchildren Mimi (Matt) Bersson, Samuel Prothero, Isabelle Prothero, Luc Prothero, Dylan Abernethy, Leela Abernethy, Lucie Turner, Andrew Turner, and Robert Turner; as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

He was born on August 11, 1932 in Minnesota to Alfred Alexander Abernethy and Ruth Linda Gilbert who preceded him in death and is survived by his sister Janet Brown.

Robert attended the University of Maryland, proudly enlisted in the Army, and returned to UMD where he met his bride in a ballroom dancing class and graduated with honors while earning an Industrial Engineering business degree with Who’s Who recognition.

He earned his MBA from American University and started his career working for Procter & Gamble in Baltimore, MD, then worked for Continental Diamond as their industrial engineer before joining Mckinsey & Company as a consultant for seven years. He then started his own management consulting firm, RKA, INC. out of Princeton, NJ, where he also served as a member of the Rotary Club and president of the YMCA.

He was a devoted husband, father, son, brother, uncle, cousin, friend, and veteran and will be missed by all who knew and loved him. Family, faith, service, friends, travel, and trying to make things better than he found them were his top priorities in life.   

All who knew Bob will remember him for his love, dedication, creativity, problem solving, determination, optimism, resilience, and storytelling.

A funeral mass to celebrate his life will be held on June 11, at 11 a.m. at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, 21371 St. Theresa Lane, Ashburn, VA 20147. His final resting place will be Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers and in keeping in line with his priorities of service, lifelong work in consulting, and desire for equal treatment of all people, donations can be made to https://gaerg.org.rw in Bob’s memory to support genocide survivors in developing their small businesses.

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Anna P. Drago

Anna (nee Pitigliani) Drago, 87, of Cranbury, NJ, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro.

Anna was born in Rome, Italy. She was educated in Rome and in New York City, notably at Sarah Lawrence College and Marymount College. In New York City, Anna was employed by Alitalia Airlines and upon moving to Cranbury, New Jersey, from New York City, began a long career at Princeton University in the Romance Languages Department. She was active in many local charities including the Watershed Institute, D&R Greenway Land Trust, and the Cranbury Historical Society. Anna was a great supporter of the arts including the Grounds for Sculpture, the Princeton University Art Museum, McCarter Theatre, and she served for many years as a Board member of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. This free-spirited, strong-minded, caring, and supportive wife, mother, grandmother, and friend will be deeply missed.

Predeceased by her parents, Fausto and Nelly (nee Van Straten) Pitigliani and her beloved husband, Francesco Drago; she is survived by her loving and devoted children, Suzanne and Matthew (Dawn) and her three grandchildren, Dylan and Cassie Randall and Nina Drago.

Arrangements are under the direction of the A.S. Cole Son & Co., 22 North Main Street, Cranbury, NJ. Saulfuneralhomes.com.

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Robert W. Hopkins II

Robert William Hopkins II, “Bob” or “Hoppy,” passed away at home in West Palm Beach, FL, on May 21, 2022, from complications due to a stroke. He is predeceased by his beloved daughter, Blair Hopkins Dejoux, and his parents, Helen and Robert W. Hopkins, and survived by his loving wife, Sydney, daughters Chandler A. Hopkins and Whitney Hopkins Duncan, sons-in-law H. Park Duncan and Edouard H.G. Dejoux, and grandchildren Sydney, Robert, and William Duncan, and Christine, Charlotte, and Isabelle Dejoux.

Bob was born on June 6, 1940, in Alton, IL. He and his wife, Sydney, attended kindergarten through high school together, graduating from Hamilton High School in Hamilton, OH. He attended Vanderbilt University and graduated from George Washington University with a degree in History and Political Science. After college, Bob was a member of the first U.S. Peace Corps in Sierra Leone, West Africa. He then joined The Calumite Company (founded by his father), as an Executive and Sales Engineer, eventually becoming President of The Calumite Company and Calumite International, where he frequently traveled to Europe and the Far East.

Bob was a member of The Bedens Brook Club, Nassau Club, and The Old Guard of Princeton, The Union League Club of New York, Gulf Stream Bath and Tennis Club, The Society of the Four Arts, and a former commissioner of Gulf Stream, FL.

Bob will be remembered as a loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend. He captivated many lives with his wit, wisdom, and lively sense of humor, and as a friend remembered him, “he was clearly one of a kind and left an impact on everyone he met along the way.” He was an avid history buff with a unique eye and a passion for fine art, interior design, and landscaping. Bob loved life and entertaining his family and friends. A poem he once shared by Robert H. Smith:

The clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop
At late or early hour.

Now is the only time you own
Live, love, toil with a will
Place no faith in time
For the clock may soon be still.