Evelyn Dobson Donahue

Evelyn Dobson Donahue of Princeton died peacefully on December 27, 2014 with her son’s family at her side. She was 93 years old. She was born on Staten Island, N.Y. in 1921, the daughter of British immigrants. As a child she spent some summers in Great Britain with family. During the Nazi blitz on London, some of her relatives were killed and she was determined to do something about it. At first, she worked for the munitions procurement group in New York buying from such firms as the Hercules Powder Company. After lend lease began she flew in a Pan Am flying boat to Ireland and then down to North Africa to work for William Donovan and the OSS. As the war shifted north, she was stationed in Italy where at one point her apartment’s balcony was blown off in an air raid. She had a number of adventures during the war and even witnessed Mussolini’s body hanging in a gas station in Italy. After the war, she worked at J. Walter Thompson in Manhattan as a copywriter. She then met and married James Donahue, a decorated Marine dive-bomber pilot from the Pacific war. He remained her loving husband until his death in 2010. After her three children left home, she worked for the Maryknoll Missionary Society running the office of Justice and Peace in Westchester County, N.Y. She moved to Princeton in 2008 to be near her son’s family. She adopted many stray dogs during her long life, particularly old dogs that no one wanted. She is survived by a daughter, Andrea and granddaughter, Meredith; a son Jim and daughter-in-law Deb and grandchildren Casey and Matt; and a daughter Christina. She was someone who when she saw something needed doing, whether it was fighting tyranny or making a child feel special, she did it. She will be sorely missed.

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Averil Sutphen

Averil Sutphen, 81, of Princeton, New Jersey died Thursday, December 25, 2014 at home.

Born in Princeton, she was a lifelong area resident. Along with her late husband, Claude, she was the owner/operator of Sutphen Memorials in Princeton. An avid bowler, she belonged to several local bowling leagues. She also enjoyed playing cards.

Daughter of the late Edwin F. and Helen Duncan, wife of the late Claude Sutphen, she is survived by a son and daughter-in-law Douglas G. and Mary Jane Sutphen; two daughters and a son-in-law Claudia and Robert Bazewicz; Diane Christiansen; a brother Edwin Duncan, Jr.; a sister Edith O’Neil; a sister-in-law Evelyn Whitlock; five grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

A private burial alongside her late husband will be held at Princeton Cemetery.

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

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Barbara B. Gray

Barbara B. Gray, who resided at the Princeton Windrows retirement home in Princeton, died on December 21, 2014 of heart failure.

Mrs. Gray came from of a family of German-Irish decent who arrived in America in the early 1700’s, many participating in the American Revolution. Prominent among them was Charles Carroll of Maryland, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Mrs. Gray was born in Salt Lake City on October 26, 1918 to Denise Karrick Bintz and Charles Carroll Bintz. She grew up in Salt Lake City where she attended Roland Hall and East High School and later graduated from Stanford University. Among her proudest moments was a startling 93 on a physics exam at Roland Hall, numerous equestrian firsts in the Salt Lake City Horse Show, most notably for Ladies Jumping, and her BA from Stanford where she was a member of the Pi Phi sorority.

A devoted wife of 72 years, Mrs. Gray married Sherman Gray in October 1942. The son of Prentiss Nathaniel Gray and Laura Sherman, his family also includes a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Roger Sherman of Connecticut. Sherm received his BA from Harvard where he led the crew team to win the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley, England in 1939. After graduation, he joined the U.S. Navy and served as a naval aviator flying a PBY aircraft in defense of the Aleutians Islands while Bobbie remained in Salt Lake. After the war the pair moved to New York where he joined Henry Schroder Banking Corporation. They began their several moves to and from Europe while Sherman worked for Schroder’s Bank and later Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner, and Smith. When Sherm was assigned abroad, Mrs. Gray moved the entire family, first to Switzerland, then France, then on to London before returning finally to the U.S. where she became a founding member of the Junior League of Long Island. The frequent moves involved the conversion of some 15 residences into gracious homes for her family and provided her with many spectacular recipes, which she cooked with aplomb.

Mrs. Gray is predeceased by her first daughter, Pamela Carroll Gray, of Newport Beach, Calif., the late wife of Lowell Martindale. She is survived by her husband of 72 years, Sherman; her second daughter, Elizabeth Gray Lilleston and husband Richard D. Lilleston of Navesink, N.J.; and her son, Prentiss Sherman Gray and wife Leslie G. Steinberg of Morristown, N.J.; six grandchildren and their spouses: Jessica Carroll Chu, Pamela Sherman Lilleston and James Noe; Amanda January Lilleston and Justin Dimmel; Matthew Putnam Gray, Zachary Sherman Gray, and Nathaniel Prentiss Gray. And, last but not least, the newest joy in her life, a great grandson, Kai Sherman Noe.

In lieu of flowers donations may be sent to Stanford University.

A memorial luncheon will be held at noon on January 3, 2015 at the Princeton Windrows, 2000 Windrows Drive in Princeton.

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A.B. Tomlinson

Surrounded by his children in his last week, A.B. “Tom Tom” Tomlinson passed away in Jupiter, Florida after 2 months of various issues that finally overcame his zest for life. After 83 wonderful years, he joins his wife, Joan, his son, Steve, his grandsons, Andrew and Tim Carey, as well as many of his friends, that left us all too soon. It is also rumored that he is having Manhattans and cigars with his hero, former President Ronald Reagan.

Tom’s colorful life began in Brainerd, Minnesota where he met his future wife, Joan before graduating as class president at nearby Macalester College. He then joined the Navy and served as a pilot on the U.S.S. Lake Champlain, during the Korean War.

After passing on a career as an artist, Tom had an outstanding 36 years with IBM that took him from typewriter sales in Minneapolis to management in Chicago, and then into the executive ranks in Princeton, where he and his family spent much of their lives — and most of their Friday evenings, at Contes Pizzeria.

Tom was an avid golfer at the Springdale Golf Club, and well known around town for his many activities, including his role as a stand in for Walter Matthau, who portrayed Einstein in the Princeton based movie, IQ.

With an air of professionalism and a gift for stand up presentations (that he learned from another IBM hero and friend, Buck Rodgers), Tom became a well-known motivational speaker for numerous companies, industry associations, and even the U.S. Government Joint Chiefs of Staff.

His boundless energy and enthusiasm kept him on the go, and he still drove from Florida to New Jersey while in his 80’s. He was a fun loving man who enjoyed everything and everyone to the fullest, and always made you feel special. Although we appreciate it now more than before, it might be said that Tom’s life and driving skills featured more gas pedal than brakes.

Tom is survived by his brother Leon Tomlinson; sister Marge Hawkins; children Michael Tomlinson, Julie Carey, and Cathy Earnhardt; grandchildren Beth, Maggie, and Carolyn Tomlinson; Maddie, Hannah, and Jack Earnhardt; and his great grandson, Jack Tomlinson. Although not officially related, Tom is also survived by many friends that he considered as family in Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, and especially his home for the last 7 years, Jupiter Dunes, Florida.

To paraphrase one of his IBM speeches, if asked how he lived, he would say, “Just dandy.” We are sad to lose Tom, but we know that he has “turned into the wind and is ready for takeoff.”

Please join us to celebrate the gift of knowing Tom at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 17, 2015 at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Princeton.