Larry Hugick

Larry Hugick, 59, of Princeton, died suddenly on Sunday September 22, 2013, at Meadowlands Hospital in Secaucus.

Larry was chairman of Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI). He was a nationally recognized expert in public opinion, pre-election polling, and policy research. He led the PSRAI team in conducting work for the Pew Research Center that was related to politics and social trends. Since 2000, he has served as a regular exit poll analyst for NBC News. From 1989 to 2010 he conducted regular polling on politics, policy, and lifestyle issues for Newsweek magazine. For the past decade at PSRAI he has conducted surveys on a wide range of health and health care topics for the Kaiser Family Foundation, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Prevention magazine, and many other clients. At the state level, he has done regular polling in Pennsylvania about policy issues for the Pew Charitable Trusts and IssuesPA, and major social research in Massachusetts for MassINC.

Before joining PSRAI in 1993, Larry spent 15 years at The Gallup Organization, where he was managing editor of The Gallup Poll and led polling efforts for major newspapers, including Newsday and The Chicago Sun-Times. Larry’s research studies of “rally events” and presidential approval and problems in polling on biracial elections have received national media attention. He has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, PBS, and NPR as a commentator about polling and public opinion. He was also a council member of the Princeton Future organization and as such, performed pro bono work for the community. He is a past president of the New Jersey Chapter of AAPOR and was a frequent speaker at national AAPOR conferences. He was a graduate of Dickinson College.

Larry was a Renaissance man who enjoyed gourmet cooking, fine art, literature, organic gardening, walking with his wife and dog, following his favorite teams: the Mets and Jets, and spending time with family and friends.

He was the only son of Irene and the late Henry Hugick of Plymouth, Pa. Larry is survived by his wife, Christine; his sons Peter and Mark; his mother Irene; a sister Bonnie Skelly and her husband Tom of Seattle, Wash., a niece Leah and nephew Tommy; and a host of aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

The funeral will be a Mass of the Resurrection at Saint Paul RC Church, 214 Nassau Street Princeton, at 11 a.m. on Thursday, September 26, 2013, to be followed immediately by a reception in the church community center. There will be no calling hours.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to Home Front of Lawrenceville, the Crisis Ministry of Mercer County, or the Health Care Ministry of Princeton.

Arrangements are by the Kimble Funeral Home.

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Mary Jo Brower

Mary Jo Brower, 83, of Montgomery Township died Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro.

Born in Athens, Ohio, she graduated from Withrow High School in Cincinnati. While attending Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, she met the love of her life, Pete, whom she married in 1951. Upon graduation in 1952, they spent two years in Japan where Mary Jo taught conversational English to Japanese students in Tokyo. Upon returning to the United States, she lived in New Jersey in East Orange, Glen Ridge, Montclair, Lawrenceville, and Montgomery Township.

She was a former member of the Montclair Junior League, Montclair Golf Club, the Orange Lawn Tennis Club, and the Nassau Club of Princeton. She was a long time member of Calvary Methodist Church in East Orange and served in various positions. She served as administrative assistant for The Art Center of New Jersey in East Orange and also served on the Board of Directors for the Glen Ridge Chapter of the American Red Cross. She chaired various committees at the Princeton United Methodist Church.

Daughter of the late Charles Melvin and Mary (Lovell) Coulter, she is survived by her husband Forrest A. Brower of Montgomery Township; a daughter and son-in-law Catherine Lee and John Zettler of Doylestown, Pa.; a son and daughter-in-law Todd C. and Wendy (Granberg) Brower of East Hanover; a sister Margaret Sauerhoff of New Canaan, Conn.; and five grandchildren: Daniel and Jennifer Zettler; and Colin, Brendan, and Kellyn Brower.

Mary Jo will be remembered for her sense of humor, service to the community, love of music, friends, family, and God.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 28, 2013 at 11 a.m. at the Princeton United Methodist Church, Nassau St. at Vandeventer Ave., Princeton.

Burial will be private in Princeton Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Princeton United Methodist Church, 7 Vandeventer Ave., Princeton, N.J. 08542 or The National Parkinson Foundation, P.O. Box 116931, Atlanta, Ga. 30368.

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

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 Arianne Scholz Kassof

Arianne Scholz Kassof, a Princeton resident since 1961, died on Tuesday, September 17, 2013, at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia of complications following heart surgery. She was 81 years old.

Born in Philadelphia, she was the daughter of Dr. Karl W. H. Scholz and Carol Krusen Scholz. She was educated at Friends Central School, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Pennsylvania.

She met her husband, Allen H. Kassof, in Vermont in 1950 at the Shawnee Institute for World Affairs, an international summer camp for high school and college students. They were married in her parents’ home in Media, Pennsylvania in 1953 and moved to Cambridge, where she worked at the Sanborn Corporation to help support Allen’s graduate studies at Harvard. She subsequently worked at Maclean Hospital in Belmont, where she ran the patient library.

Arianne was an avid volunteer. Among the organizations that benefited from her superb organizational, editing, and social skills were the Princeton University League, where she served as president, the International Center of Princeton University, and the parent-teacher organizations of her children’s schools.

In 1979 Arianne co-founded the Princeton Hub, a social gathering place for adults with mental illness or developmental challenges. She left the Hub in 1987 when her first grandchild was born. She cherished her time with all of her grandchildren, and was especially proud to provide daycare for the two local ones.

She was the curator of the Cameron Gallery in Princeton from 1996 to 1998. In 2000 she began serving as a docent at Grounds For Sculpture, where she continued to lead tours and edit the newsletter until shortly before her death. Arianne was a member of the Present Day Club of Princeton and the Friends of the Institute for Advanced Study.

A consummate homemaker and cook, Arianne loved nothing more than entertaining people in her home, which she dubbed “the Ari-Inn.” Countless guests reveled in her hospitality.

Arianne is survived by her husband, Allen; daughters Annie, Arlen (Tom Hastings), and Anita (Joshua Neiman); her siblings, Carol Snow and Bill Scholz; and grandchildren Deja Kassof, Sara and Kevin Hastings, and Sophie and Daniel Neiman. She was predeceased by one grandson, Julian Harned.

Memorial donations may be made to Grounds For Sculpture at www.groundsforsculpture.org/donate or by check to 18 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton, N.J. 08619. (Please put “Arianne Kassof” in the comments field.)

A memorial service will be scheduled.

The family would like you to know that any errors in this obituary are the responsibility of its authors, who are bereft of Arianne’s editing skills.