A. Rice Lyons

A. Rice Lyons, 93, of Princeton died peacefully in her home on October 31, 2022. She was born Hannah Rice on July 4, 1929, in Brooklyn to Morris Rice (a shortening of Reiser when he came through Ellis Island) and Lena (Rothman) Rice, and was the only child of their marriage, though she had several half-sisters. She was not called Hannah as a child, and was registered in school as Anita, learning only as a teenager that Anita was not her birth name. She was called Rice as a first name starting in junior high, where all the kids were known by their last names. That stuck permanently for her.

Rice married her high school sweetheart, Mymon Goldstein, in 1949. They moved to Princeton, where he received his Ph.D. in psychology, then to Denver, where their first two children were born. Another job took them to Bloomington, Indiana, and finally another to Lawrence Township, NJ, in 1960, where their third child was born. Rice began work at Princeton University in the mid-1960s, landing after a few years at the Office of Population Research as its department administrator. She and Mymon divorced in the early 1970s, and he died in 2004. Rice married Terry Lyons in 1973, and they moved to Princeton in 1975. Rice and Terry (still of Princeton) divorced in the late 1980s. She spent the rest of her working career at the OPR until her retirement in 1994, and remained a Princeton resident for the rest of her life.

Rice was a vibrant member of many circles who thrived on community and particularly on bringing people together to do the things she loved. She taught folk dancing for decades, with a particular emphasis on getting people to dance for the first time, and to enjoy dancing as much as she did. She incorporated folk dance into events she led at elementary schools and into LAFF (Life After Forty-Five), a class she developed and taught for years at Princeton University. She became a published poet later in life, and turned to teaching poetry at the Princeton senior center in 2000, which she did until her death. She was an involved member of the Princeton Unitarian church, where she led New Year’s Day poetry readings for years. She was a lifelong knitter, a lover of classy movies and TV shows (especially British mysteries), an enthusiastic poker player, an entertaining charades player, and a great cook. She was always the best storyteller in the room, usually adding a little embellishment to make the story more fun. And she was a loving and playful grandmother.

She is survived by her children Julia Goldstein (George Kostic) of Toronto, Nina Goldstein (Robert Anderson) of Ann Arbor, and Amy Goldstein (Owen O’Donnell) of Princeton, and her grandchildren Evan O’Donnell and Leanne O’Donnell. The family wishes to thank the invaluable Claudette Wright, Rice’s devoted caregiver of her last five years.

There will be a memorial service at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton in early 2023. Memorial contributions may be made to the UUCP or the Princeton Senior Resource Center.

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Barbara Marion Hynds Johnson

Barbara Marion Hynds Johnson, 93, died peacefully on November 4, 2022. Barbara was born on January 26, 1929 in New Haven, CT. She graduated with a BS in Elementary Education from New Haven State Teachers College (now Southern Connecticut State University) in 1950. As a student she served as a member of a delegation to the Connecticut State Legislature to petition for the upgrade of the college to a university to be located at the new Hamden campus. After graduation Barbara taught kindergarten and reading readiness at Truman School, where both she and her mother had been students.

Barbara married John Johnson in 1951, moving with him and their newborn son to Pittsburgh in 1955 when he joined the Westinghouse Electric Corporation Atomic Power Department. In 1955 they moved to Princeton, NJ, where he was assigned to work at the Princeton University Project Matterhorn, the University’s fusion program. He ultimately joined the University’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory for the rest of his working career, enabling her to raise a family in Princeton and contribute to many community activities.

Barbara was a charming hostess when John regularly invited colleagues home for dinner on little notice and she often took charge of the companion’s program at physics conferences and meetings. She was especially proud of teaching an English conversation class to young professional women during a stint at Kyoto University Plasma Physics Laboratory. Barbara served as a volunteer for the Princeton Hospital auxiliary, co-chairing the rummage sale. She was president of the Princeton High School scholarship committee (now the 101 club) and was a strong supporter of the school’s music program, helping to raise money for the choir’s European trips. Barbara was president of both the Princeton University League and the Princeton Women’s Club and served as president, program committee chairman, and member of the scholarship committee of Women’s College Club of Princeton which provides financial assistance to female graduates of local high schools. She was a longtime member and served as chair of the program committee for The Present Day Club. Barbara faithfully served the Princeton United Methodist Church as president of its women’s society, rummage sale chair, member of the membership committee, and church Lay Leader. She chaired the committee that organized and executed PUMC’s sesquicentennial anniversary.

During their 69 years of marriage, Barbara and John were blessed with the opportunity to travel extensively in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. She loved visiting with old friends, forging new friendships, and spending time with family.

Barbara is pre-deceased by her husband of over 69 years, John Lowell Johnson, and her parents, Frederick Ender and Amelia Rita McDermott Hynds. She will be missed by her children, Lowell and Michelle Johnson, Lesley Johnson-Gelb, Jennifer and David Goodall, seven grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.

A service in celebration of the lives of Barbara and John Johnson will be held at Princeton United Methodist Church on Saturday, January 28 at 2 p.m. Barbara wishes that any memorial gifts made in her name be directed to the Scholarship Fund of the Women’s College Club of Princeton.

Arrangements under the direction of the Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.

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Nancye Allen Fitzpatrick

Nancye Alfriend Allen left us in this world on November 9th to join her loving husband Jim, at the wonderful age of 100.

Nancye’s devotion and commitment to the betterment of children: her own, her grandchildren, those she taught, and especially those in need were a constant gift to all she impacted.

Mother, teacher, mentor, friend — witty and wry to the very end. Nancye was born in Hebron in rural South Central Virginia in 1922, the third daughter of James Aubrey Allen and Mamie Allen nee Baird. It was a simpler world and a farming life she entered. Her family kept chickens, pigs, and a few cows, owned and operated a diesel-powered sawmill deep in the woods and a local country store that doubled as a mail stop on the Norfolk and Western railroad tracks that ran by their lane with occasional haunting whistles. As a family they attended the small Presbyterian church ministered by Reverend Hugh Fitzpatrick; who would later marry Nancye to his son Jim, a childhood friend since the age of 6.

When that local boy, at the age of 17, enlisted, went off to war as a bomber pilot and became a prisoner of war, Nancye started writing letters to him hoping it would help him survive his days of captivity. Little did she imagine that Jim would become her husband and life partner for 66 years.

When Jim returned from Germany, Nancye was teaching high school in Virginia. Over the next few years, he asked her three times to accept his proposal for marriage, and as we know three times is the charm, so they married in 1950. Rural Virginia was soon left behind for the canyon walls of New York City. Nancye bore her first two children on the Upper West Side — Karen 1951 and Hugh 1952 — before relocating to Princeton, NJ, in 1953; chosen so they could raise a family in a college town. They soon built a home in a field on Rosedale Road. 1954 saw her second son Allen arrive and in 1959 her third son Dudley. All of her children carry her maiden name and all feel their deep roots in Hebron soil.

Nancye was the consummate mother. Fierce to defend, clear with moral lessons, quick to console and hug, and always cooking up a storm. It was a well fed, busy, and safe household but if you ever sneaked the cookie jar, she had eyes in the back of her head!

Once her children were off to school, it was time for Nancye to return to teaching: grammar lessons at the kitchen table were no longer enough. Her college years at Longwood State Teachers College and her early teaching positions in Virginia placed her in a long line of family teachers including her mother Mamie, who taught in a one room schoolhouse (often to boys who were older than she), and her two sisters Mary Dudley and Louise, who were also teachers in Virginia. She restarted her career in New Jersey, first as a substitute in the Princeton school system, then full time in the newly built John Witherspoon Middle School. She had a great run there; her students loved her for her support and her ability to challenge them at their level — she wanted the best from all and for all.

Nancye always had a soft spot in her heart for those in need. She served for many years on the Board of the New Grange School. She mentored and tutored in the Trenton After School Program and supported the Princeton YMCA, The Trenton Children’s Chorus, Centurion Ministries, and was an elder at Nassau Presbyterian Church.

Later years were spent traveling with Jim on business as they visited clients, researched companies, and attended conferences worldwide. She enjoyed walking, exploring the cities, and bringing home gifts for her many grandchildren. Nancye loved to make good friends and be with people. Her warmth and genuine interest in others always came through.

Gatherings at 486 Rosedale Road with friends and family were ribald; full of amazing food at Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, Easter, birthdays, or for any reason, really. She loved to share her food and home with others. Her legacy in this regard has been assumed by the rest of the well-fed Fitzpatrick clan — four children, 12 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and perhaps expanding even further.

Jim fondly dubbed her “The Rose of Rosedale Road” and she was. Witty to the end, wry with a wink and a smile, always active either digging in her garden, mowing her lawn, preparing food, volunteering in Trenton, walking until her knees played out after 100 years; she will be dearly missed but never forgotten.

Rest in Peace Nancye — Jim is ready and waiting for you!

A service of remembrance and celebration will be held Saturday, December 10 at 11 a.m. in the Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Centurion Ministries.

Arrangements are under the direction of Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.