David Chappelear

David Conrad Chappelear, 83, died peacefully on Saturday, January 10, 2015. He was born on March 2, 1931 in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Charles William Chappelear and Felonise Weiser. David grew up in Hartford, Connecticut and attended the Loomis Chaffee School. He earned a BA in chemical engineering from Yale University in 1953, where he sang with the glee club and climbed with the Yale Mountaineering Club. He served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army in Fort Sill, Oklahoma from 1954 to 1956. David earned a PhD in chemical engineering from Princeton University in 1960, and continued to be active with the Princeton Graduate Alumni Association. He did always root for Yale over Princeton in football, though.

David worked for over 20 years at Monsanto in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he oversaw the development of various plastics products and obtained several patents. During this time, he also taught graduate courses in chemical engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In the early 1980s, he conducted leading polymer research and development at Raychem Corporation in Menlo Park, California, before relocating to Pennington, New Jersey to join Johnson & Johnson in 1983. David worked for Johnson & Johnson’s consumer products division in Skillman, New Jersey, as vice president of research and engineering and director of new technology until his retirement in 1995. Even as an executive, he never stopped being an engineer, and enjoyed the technical, problem-solving side of his work greatly. He was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in 1986.

David was an accomplished mountaineer, and climbed extensively in the Fairweather Range and the Takhinsha Mountains in southern Alaska in the 1960s, including first ascents of Mount Lituya and Mount Quincy Adams. Using his background as a polymer chemist, he assisted with important early analysis of the flow of glacier ice in the Juneau Ice Field. He loved the wilderness, and continued to climb, hike, and ski his entire life, and even in failing health pushed himself to go as far and as fast as he possibly could. He also became an enthusiastic tennis player and an avid bicyclist.

David sang with the Yale Glee Club in college, and singing continued to be an important part of his life. He was a member of the choir of the Pennington United Methodist Church for over 20 years.

David is survived by two sons, Christopher Chappelear of Maplewood, New Jersey and Thomas Chappelear of Kensington, California; David’s companion of over 20 years, Dorothea Webster of Pennington, New Jersey; his brother, Daniel Chappelear of Redwood City, California; and five grandchildren, Matthew, William, Ella, Benjamin, and Eleanor.

A memorial service was held on Wednesday, January 14, 2015 at 7 p.m. at the Pennington United Methodist Church, 60 S. Main Street, Pennington. There will be a private interment at Princeton Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, 31 Titus Mill Road, Pennington, N.J. 08534. Arrangements are by the Blackwell Memorial Home.

Kenneth Janney Dawes, III

Kenneth Janney Dawes, III died unexpectedly on January 1, 2015. He was 48 years old. Janney was born in Princeton Hospital on January 28, 1966 to Florence and Kenneth Janney Dawes, Jr. He grew up in Lawrenceville and Princeton. Janney attended Stuart Country Day School, Princeton Day School, and The Lawrenceville School, graduating from Princeton High School in 1983. He then pursued his love of gardening while attending Delaware Valley College and earned a degree in landscape design.

Janney was a talented gardener, animal lover, and kind soul. He rescued many dogs from the animal shelters in Trenton and was their faithful steward. Janney was a regular Jeopardy viewer whose ample knowledge of history and birds made him a most worthy armchair opponent. Janney started his business, Gardens by Design, in the 1990’s and transformed numerous gardens around Princeton with his inspired plantings and landscape designs. He also spearheaded a trail near the Johnson Park School and, along with the help of friends, worked tirelessly to see it to completion.

Janney is survived by his mother, Florence Dawes, his brother Joseph N. Coffee, Jr., his sister Colleen Hall, and several nieces and nephews.

Janney’s life will be celebrated with a memorial service in the spring.