July 31, 2024

Obituaries 7/21/2024

Ingrid W. Reed

Ingrid Wagner Reed passed away peacefully on July 27, 2024 surrounded by her children.

Ingrid Reed loved all things New Jersey dedicating her life to the enrichment and improvement of the lives of New Jersey’s young and old. Her enthusiastic contributions as a feminist pioneer; civil rights advocate; public policy expert; supporter of the arts; environmental leader; local, state, and tri-state regional planning proponent; state and regional government task force leader; and board member and chair of countless New Jersey organizations leaves an enduring legacy. Foremost she was a proud mother and grandmother, supportive wife and life partner, and loyal and supportive friend.

Ingrid was born in 1936 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to the late Fred and Ruth (Straumer) Wagner and was raised in Vineland, New Jersey. She graduated as valedictorian of her Vineland High School class and enrolled as a member of the Class of 1958 at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn’s first class of women, on a full scholarship graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Economics.

Following graduation, Ingrid moved to New York City where she met her husband, Marvin Reed. They married in Vineland and settled in Princeton beginning a more than 60-year partnership supporting each other’s careers, volunteer efforts, families, friends, and neighbors.

In 1961, the family bought a house in ‘Glen Acres’ in West Windsor, a new racially integrated neighborhood where they raised their two children David and Liza. Shortly thereafter Ingrid joined the League of Women Voters and began her civic work. In 1972, she ran for West Windsor Township Committee on the platform of forming a master plan for the community. Her bid was unsuccessful but her focus on planning led to 18 years on the Mercer County Planning Board as the first woman appointee and where she served as chair for 11 years. She also joined the Watershed Institute Board of Trustees, serving as chair 1975 to 1978.

In 1974, Ingrid began a new career at Princeton University’s Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the family moved to Princeton Borough. She served as Director of the Rockefeller Public Service Awards program from 1975 to 1981 and Assistant Dean. In 1987, Governor Tom Kean established the Capital City Redevelopment Corporation with Ingrid as chair, a position she held until 2010. Ingrid’s commitment to improving the State was her motivation in helping to establish New Jersey Future in 1987 — an organization dedicated to advancing policies and practices to curb sprawl and promote redevelopment. She was a founding board member and served on the board for more than 30 years including time as chair and its first senior fellow. While at Princeton University, Ingrid received a W.K. Kellogg Foundation National Leadership Fellowship allowing her to study private sector real estate development in Kenya, East Asia, and Chicago.

In 1992, Ingrid became Vice-President for Public Affairs and Corporate Secretary at the Rockefeller University in New York City. During this time, she was elected to the National Academy of Public Administration and served on the New Jersey Committee of the Regional Plan Association.

In 1996, she joined the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers University to lead The New Jersey Project for the next 15 years. From 2000 to 2009, Ingrid served on the board of the Community Foundation of New Jersey when the foundation’s assets grew nine-fold. In 2009, Ingrid’s passion of providing voter information and government transparency led to becoming a founder and board chair of NJ Spotlight. Ingrid also joined the Community Advisory Board of NJ PBS serving as chair. Her involvement with both organizations helped facilitate the merger of NJ Spotlight with NJTV under WNET in 2019. In addition, Ingrid chaired the Governor’s Task Force on Local Government Ethics Administration (2009-2011). Ingrid served on the Board and Advisory Council on the Children’s Committee of Womanspace and actively supported the Princeton Adult School, Arts Council of Princeton, and New Jersey Conservation Foundation. Ingrid was a frequent program host at the Princeton Public Library including her annual election reviews with MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki. In addition, she was active with AARP New Jersey and honored with the MVP Award in 2020 for 10 years of service.

In 2015, Ingrid and Marvin moved to Stonebridge at Montgomery Senior Living Community in Skillman. At Stonebridge, Ingrid created and hosted more than 90 episodes of the “Getting to Know You” video series.

Ingrid found great pleasure in traveling the globe, opera, classical music, art, ballet, theater, and frequent visits to New York City. Ingrid’s local involvement with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra embodied her passion for classical music and conviction that arts are an essential part of communities. Serving on the Board, Ingrid was instrumental in developing the PSO Bravo program which provides music education to New Jersey public school students, and as an advisor to the Princeton Festival.

Ingrid was predeceased by her husband Marvin Reed in 2020, former mayor of Princeton Borough, and her sister Barbara Suess. She leaves her son David and wife Nan Reed of San Francisco, CA; daughter Elizabeth (Liza) and husband Thomas O’Reilly of Hingham, MA; sisters Doris and husband Marty Schwartz of East Lansing, MI, and Susan Levin of Port Hueneme, CA; and grandchildren Cecilia and husband Raymond C. Smith IV of Boston, MA; Jacquelyn O’Reilly of Cambridge, MA; Agnes O’Reilly of Hingham, MA; and Owen Reed of Boston, MA.

A celebration of life service will be held at a later date. Please consider honoring Ingrid’s memory by donating to the Princeton Symphony Orchestra Bravo program to benefit the youth who are New Jersey’s future (princetonsymphony.org/support/donate).

———

Alexander B. Vincent, Jr.

Alexander Billmeyer Vincent, Jr., 91, of Princeton, New Jersey, passed away on July 10, 2024. Alex was born and raised in Lewistown, PA. After high school, he attended Dickinson College and the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. Upon graduation from Cornell, he moved to Princeton for a position in Princeton University Dining Services. This began a longtime affiliation with the University and a career in the hospitality industry. It was at Princeton University where he met the love of his life, Jill. After marrying Jill in 1969, they remained in Princeton and raised their family in the Palmer House, Princeton University’s guesthouse, for the next 29 years.

Away from his career, Alex had many interests. He and Jill loved entertaining, the Palmer House serving as a beautiful backdrop to dinner parties and Sunday lunches that were enjoyed by family and friends. An avid baker, Alex was well known for his decadent chocolate cakes and lavish cookie trays at Christmas. He was a well-known lover of Christmas and Santa Claus collector. He also enjoyed gardening, attending Princeton University football and basketball games and family history.

Alex is survived by his children, Virginia Vincent Sayer and her husband, Dorsey Sayer, and their children Tim and Emory of Wyndmoor, PA; Alexander B. Vincent, III and his wife Jessica Lockhart Vincent and their children Alexander IV and Catherine, of Yardley, PA; and his sister, Alice Vincent Davis (late James) of Columbus, OH. He is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. Alex was predeceased by his parents Alexander Billmeyer Vincent and Virginia Sullivan Vincent; his wife, Jill Blandford Vincent; and sister Lucritia Vincent Bossert (late Jack).

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Nassau Presbyterian Church’s Compassion Fund.

A Memorial Service will be held at Nassau Presbyterian Church on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at 1 p.m. Reception following at the Nassau Club.

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

———

Kathleen Cuffy

Kathleen Cuffy was born on October 7, 1954, in Trinidad and Tobago. She was a resident of Princeton, NJ, for over 30 years. Kathleen accepted her angel invitation and transitioned on July 20, 2024, at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center.

Kathleen is survived by her daughter, Kimberly Borris; siblings, Leila (Lansing), Corinne (Carl), Roslyn (late Steve), Delia, Hiliva, Erica, Arthur, and Raymond (Karen). She was a loving aunt to 17 nieces and nephews and a great-aunt to 18 great-nieces and great-nephews. She was greatly loved by her extended family, the Resnicks.

Kathleen was predeceased by her parents, Evelyn and Clement Cuffy, and her two younger brothers, Eric and David.

Kathleen was an amazing mother, sister, friend, and neighbor. With a strong love of her faith in Christ, Kathleen enjoyed reading her Bible and worshipping the Lord. She was a member of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, NJ.

Kathleen got her greatest joy by helping others. She was a caregiver to many and had a hand in raising each and every one of her nieces and nephews. She was full of life with a sharp and witty tongue. She loved to sing and dance and was easily appointed the best cook in her family.

Kathleen had a love for the beauty of nature all around her. Her phone is full of pictures of sunrises, sunsets, clouds, snowfall, rain, and foggy sceneries. She also had a love for flowers and plants.
Most of all, Kathleen loved spending quality time with her family, especially her godchildren Laila, Zoey, Zion, and great-niece Ava. Her role as a mother went beyond her daughter and her kind heart touched everyone she encountered.

Kathleen will be greatly missed but will continue to live in our hearts forever.

———

Corinne Glenda Riefman Barsky
5/5/1935–7/28/2024

Corinne Glenda Riefman Barsky was a loving and supportive wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. The things she taught her loved ones were priceless and will be remembered always. She cared for people without judging them, and she let nothing get in her way of achieving great things.

Corinne was born on May 5, 1935, to Ruth and Max Riefman. Her mother was a homemaker, and her father a skilled Glazier. Her father ran his business from home and his wife took the phone calls and made the appointments; together they were successful. She met her husband, Marvin Barsky, in 1954, when she was 19 years old. They were married a year later in Elizabeth, NJ, and they celebrated 68 years of marriage this year.

Corinne acquired a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University. During her studies there, she fought with administration and managed to become the first woman ever to take an astronomy class, which previously was not allowed. She knew when to not take no for an answer. She taught people how to know their worth.

Corinne knew how to appreciate the beauty that this earth has to offer. She had a bond with nature that those that she leaves behind have yet to see anyone replicate. She chose to be strong, optimistic, and dedicated her time to caring deeply for her family while accomplishing her aspirations. She knew how to make anyone feel like the most important person in the room. She cared for others in this way, by truly understanding the challenges and achievements they brought to her, and she helped navigate and celebrate them, respectively.

She was absolutely magnetic. People of all kinds were drawn to her, and she made them feel loved. She took wonderful care of her home and decorated it in an artistic and beautiful way, keeping each room filled with many flourishing plants that she understood the care for so well. She had a precise instinct for that which went on around her and never missed a thing, from a beautiful flower to a meaningful glance. She was generous, loving, and so very smart, and she articulated this in an empowering and inspiring way. She taught people to find their best self and to do whatever it takes to maintain that strength.

Some people leave behind a smattering of colorful memories that last a lifetime, but Corinne Barsky was an intricate kaleidoscope of love and beauty that we were all exceptionally lucky to have observed. She is a woman to always admire and her beautiful soul lives forever in all of us.

She is survived by her husband, Marvin Barsky; her two children, Barbara Brown and Susan Barsky; her four grandchildren; and her seven great-grandchildren of whom she was so very proud of.