Samuel Cohen

1921-2022

Sam Cohen passed away peacefully on August 31 at the age of 101 at his home of 65 years on Littlebrook Road North in Princeton, NJ.

As a young boy in the Bronx, NY, Sam roamed over Bronx Park and its ponds, where he caught fish, frogs, and turtles and had dreams of becoming a marine biologist. Since he had been born under the sign of Pisces, it was inevitable that fish would play a major part of his life. However, since there was no college nearby that offered those credentials to him, he went to City College as a chemistry major. Sam was born and brought up in the Bronx, to his parents, immigrants from Poland (Warsaw), who owned a small Appetizing and Nut Shop that was a family business. When he was old enough, Sam joined his parents many weekends at the store, learning the fine art of slicing smoked salmon.

In 1942, after WWII started and Sam was still in college, he volunteered to become an aviation cadet. He gained his Second Lieutenant bars at Yale and went on to study electronics and communications at Harvard, MIT, and the Coast Guard Academy, where he had further training on Long Range Navigation Systems (LORAN). He reported to Air Force Base at Boca Raton, FL, for further basic training and submarine detection. During WWII, he served in India and later in China. He commanded the Master LORAN Station, which guided planes flying over the Himalayas, until the end of the war.

After several years of civilian life, during which he went to NYU Law School, earning a JD degree, and married Anita, he was recalled for the Korean War, and once again, as a LORAN specialist, while stationed in Biloxi, Miss., at Keesler AFB, he set up a series of LORAN Stations along the Gulf of Mexico. Scheduled to be a Major and transferred to Germany, Sam and Anita decided to return to civilian life after the war was over.

With their two older children, they moved from NY to NJ in 1954, when he joined the staff of RCA Labs as a Patent Attorney. A second son, born in Princeton Hospital, joined the family. They settled down in a home that Sam designed and had built in Princeton Township on Littlebrook Road North in 1957, where Anita still resides. Much of his time at RCA was writing patents for basic research. His area included electronic systems such as computers, radar, communications systems and other inventions related to these systems. He was involved with the big changes due to Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs) and Solid-State Systems incorporating CCDs, which were much lighter than the heavy battery systems with tubes, which required high power. He handled arrays of devices such as when CCDs were incorporated into a computer or radar system rather than individual devices. RCA was interested in lightening everything with a low-power device, developing small handheld cameras and lightweight systems for news gathering. Sam retired in 1982 as a director.

One of the reasons that Sam was able to enjoy his hobbies was because work was only 10 minutes away. At the Zoom party for his 100th birthday, he was asked, “Grandpa, what was the most important and happiest day in your life?” and he replied, “the day I retired from RCA so that I could go fishing whenever I wanted to.” He built much of the furniture in the house in his basement workshop, including a solid walnut dining room table, freeform in a Nakashima style. He was also a landscaper and planned all the plantings for the house on Littlebrook Road. He had a vegetable garden and grew azaleas and rhododendrons in cold frames.

He fished all over. Almost every family vacation included a fishing expedition, including Canada, Long Island, the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Florida, Texas, and the Caribbean. Until his early 90s, he drove to the Jersey Shore and fished on Party Boats, often winning the pool. He took art lessons at the Princeton Adult School, and also did mosaics and woodcuts. He also played Duplicate Bridge every Tuesday night at the YMCA.

Sam is survived by his wife Anita, daughter Carolyn (Chris Mahoney) of Tallahassee, FL, son Michael of San Jose, CA, son Alan (Manok) of Healdsburg, CA, grandchildren Bran Mahoney (Qiyang) of Annadale, VA, Penny Mahoney Abbaszadeh (Evan) of Belmont, CA, and great-grandchildren Corbin Xu Mahoney and Jack Mahoney Abbaszadeh.

No service will be held, and Sam’s ashes will be scattered at the Jersey Shore where he fished. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Ocean Conservancy or the American Civil Liberties Union.

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Michael S. Guth

Michael S. Guth, 65, of Princeton, NJ, passed away on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, at Complete Care at Monmouth. He was born in Perth Amboy, NJ, and lived in Fair Haven, NJ, where he graduated from Rumson Fair-Haven Regional High School in 1977. In 1984, Michael moved to New Haven, CT, where he worked at Harold’s in Middleton, CT, for many years before moving to Princeton in 2004 where he resided until his death.

We always cherished and will greatly miss Michael’s wisdom, sense of humor, and sweet smile. He lived a full life and never let his developmental and physical difficulties discourage him. He was a 60s and 70s TV trivia expert, an avid Star Trek and Marvel superheroes fan, and an enthusiastic and strategic boardgame and card player. 

He was predeceased by his grandparents Dr. H.P. and Dora Fine and Max and Pauline Guth. He is survived by his parents Murray and Annellen Guth, siblings Paul Guth (Dr. Sherry Magnuson) and Bonnie Guth (Adam Dubow), many loving nieces and nephews, and his extraordinary caregiver for the past nine years, Ricki Gannon.

The funeral service was held at Congregation B’nai Israel, Rumson, NJ, on Sunday, September 11 at noon. Donations may be made in Michael’s memory to Congregation B’nai Israel or the American Cancer Society.

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Margaret Lydia Faith Hill

“Maggie”

February 28, 1939 – September 13, 2022

Margaret Hill, 83, known by friends and family as Maggie, died peacefully at home in Pennington, New Jersey, surrounded by family and music. Maggie is survived by her husband Colin; her children and their families, Sebastian and his wife, Margo, and their two children Alessandra and Phoebe; Brendan and his wife, Sophie, and their three children Annabelle, Josephine, and Charlie; Cordelia and her husband John and their son, Augustus; Orlando; her four sisters Nicola, Caroline, Rosamund, and Mary; and myriad nieces and nephews.

A memorial will be held in the coming months to honor and celebrate Maggie’s life. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Cure PSP (psp.org) or National Alliance on Mental Illness Mercer County (namimercer.org).

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William J. Ryan Sr.

1934 – 2022

William J Ryan Sr, 88, died at home in the company of his family in Princeton in September following an illness.

Bill was born in Niagara Falls, NY. He met his wife, Mary, and together they started a family in Brooklyn, NY. The Ryans moved to the Princeton area in 1969 and remained there. Bill graduated from Hobart College and Fordham Law School, he served in the U.S. Army National Guard, and built his career working for firms and organizations that included Royall, Koegel, Rogers & Wells, Johnson & Johnson, and the U.S. Senate Committee on Health and Human Services. Bill was a devout Roman Catholic and a distinguished member of St. Paul Parish in Princeton.

Bill is survived by his children Peter, Patricia, and John; he was predeceased by his wife of 55 years, Mary, and his children William Jr., James, and Joseph. Bill is also survived by his grandson, Michael, and many beloved nieces and nephews.

A visiting hour and Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, September 26, beginning at 9:30 a.m., at St. Paul Church in Princeton.

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Diane Tamasi

Diane Tamasi, 80, passed away on September 17, 2022, at home surrounded by her loving family. She was born in Princeton, graduated from Princeton High School, and moved to Lawrenceville after high school. Diane was a homemaker for her three sons. She was very active, loved being outside and gardening, enjoyed traveling, sewing, crocheting, and arts and crafts.

Predeceased by her parents William and Elizabeth (Stierle) Toto; husband Michael Tamasi Jr.; and brother and sister-in-law William Toto Jr. and Mildred; she is survived by her three sons Michael Tamasi III, Edward Tamasi and wife Monica Davis, and Jeffrey Tamasi and wife Carol; and three grandchildren Allison Tamasi, Jeffrey Tamasi Jr., and Daniela Tamasi.

Visitation will be held on Monday, September 26, 2022 from 5-8 p.m. and on Tuesday, September 27, 2022 from 9-10 a.m. at The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08542. Funeral service will be held on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the funeral home followed by burial in Princeton Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to a charity supporting Multiple Myeloma.