Obituaries 1/27/16
Gladys I. Lewis
Gladys Isabel Lewis, (Lady Lewis), died peacefully at her daughter’s home in Monroe Township, New Jersey, on Thursday, January 21, 2016 at the age of 98.
Born in St. George’s, Grenada on December 19, 1917, she was the last surviving child of William Henry Jacobs and Henrietta Theodora DuBois. After graduating from the Anglican High School in Grenada, Gladys moved to Warminster, England to attend the St. Monica’s Girls missionary training school run by Community of St. Denys. They encouraged her to do teacher training in the Montessori method at the University of London.
During World War II, Gladys assisted with the evacuation of children from London to the countryside during the Blitz, taught school, and played the organ for the local church. After the war, she returned to Grenada to become assistant superintendent of schools.
She met Arthur Lewis in London after attending a talk he had given. They corresponded and were married in St. George’s, Grenada in May 1947. Returning with Arthur to Manchester, England, Gladys taught kindergarten school during the early years of their marriage until the birth of her daughters, Elizabeth and Barbara. They were happily married for 44 years.
Gladys reveled in providing care and support for both husband and children. Arthur was a professor of economics and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1979. His work took him to various countries and Gladys created a vibrant, warm, and loving home in each location including at the University of Manchester in England; at Stanford University in California; in New York City and in Accra, Ghana while Arthur was with the United Nations; in Jamaica, while Arthur was Vice Chancellor for the University of the West Indies; at Princeton University in New Jersey; and in Barbados, where Arthur was president of the Caribbean Development Bank. Gladys was a travel companion to Arthur for his many lectures around the world. In 1963 Arthur was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and she received the title Lady Lewis.
Gladys was a lifelong Jane Austen fan and a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. She served on the Board of the Princeton chapter of the Legal Defense Fund. She regularly attended the American Philosophical Society open meetings in Philadelphia. She was a strong supporter of the International Center at Princeton University. She worked as a monitor for the Recording for the Blind for over 20 years. A devout, lifelong Episcopalian, she never lost her interest in attending church events and she was a regular attendant at services.
Artistically, she loved working with wood and created everything from a doll’s house for her children (now with her granddaughter) to abstract works of art that were exhibited several times in galleries in New York and New Jersey.
Gladys and Arthur often entertained dignitaries and guests at home. She was a superb cook and a skilled hostess. She was a gracious and generous person who had a great sense of fun, loved to laugh and joke, and thoroughly enjoyed the company of family and friends.
Gladys is survived by her two daughters: Elizabeth Channon and her husband, Stephen and Barbara Virgil and her husband, Richard; her granddaughter, Samantha Virgil; her step grandchildren, Elizabeth Efaw and Charles Channon; and many beloved nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, January 30, 2016 at 11 a.m. at St. David Episcopal Church, 90 South Main Street, Cranbury, NJ, 08512.
Visitation for friends and family will be held Friday, January 29, 2016 from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the A.S. Cole & Son Funeral Home, 22 North Main Street, Cranbury, NJ 08512 and Saturday, January 30, 2016 at St. David’s Episcopal Church from 10 a.m. until the time of services.
Interment will be with her husband on the grounds of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, The Morne, St. Lucia at a later date.
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Lucy Freeman
Lucy Rubino Freeman, a 60-year resident of Princeton, passed away Thursday afternoon on January 14, 2016 in Tujunga, California at the home of her grandson Seth and his family who had cared for her for the past three years.
Lucy was born in 1912 in New York City, one of four sisters born to Giacenta and Giovanni Rubino. Her parents had immigrated as teenagers shortly before the turn of the last century from San Fele, Italy. She lived the first quarter of her life in Greenwich Village. She was a graduate of Washington Irving High School and New York University.
She met and married her husband of 50 years, Paul M. Freeman, in the mid-1930s. He was at that time a jazz guitar player. He later earned a doctorate in educational psychology from Columbia University and got a job at Educational Testing Service, which at that point was located at 20 Nassau Street. She and her husband and son moved to Princeton just before 1950.
Her husband had developed MS, and knowing he would be unable to continue work, Lucy went back to school and got a masters degree and taught for 20 years (mostly first graders) while managing her husband’s care. She and her family were amongst the earliest members of the Unitarian Church, which was then located in the Van Dyke Mansion on Bayard Lane.
In retirement and after the death of her husband in 1985, she continued her involvement in the League of Women Voters, the Unitarian Church, and literacy training. She travelled with her son to Italy when she was 80 years old — her first overseas trip. She made three other trips to Europe in her eighties to visit dear friends Inge and Seenu Srinavassen.
She was one of the original residents of The Windrows where she lived for almost 10 years until she moved to Saint Andrews Village nursing home in Boothbay Harbor, Maine close to her son’s house. In 2013, she moved into the home she shared with her grandson, Seth, his wife, Patricia, and their four children.
She is survived by them and her son Paul of Boothbay Harbor, Maine. The family is planning a memorial service sometime this summer in Maine. Anyone wishing to contact the family may do so via Paul Freeman, P.O. Box 321 Boothbay Harbor, Maine 04538 or by email paulgiovanni@yahoo.com.
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Margaret Shepard Brown
Margaret Shepard Brown, 90, previously of Princeton, died peacefully on January 18, 2016, at her home in Ocean Ridge, Florida.
Margaret was born in West Palm Beach, Florida on March 23, 1925 to Alfred Clayton Shepard and Annie Streater Shepard. Along with her sister, Marie and brother, Clayton, she grew up in Boynton. Margaret graduated as the Valedictorian of her class from Boynton High School in 1942. After attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia then later to New York City, to live and work as an executive secretary at the IBM Corporation. This is where she met her husband of 52 years, Beverly Brown.
Margaret was a loving wife and mother. She and her husband spent 20 years in Princeton raising five children. She had a love of life; she enjoyed sports, music, traveling, and meeting new people. She was an avid tennis player and fan throughout her life. She participated in the Princeton Tennis Program and won numerous awards at The Ocean Club of Florida. Margaret attended the U.S. Open several times, Wimbledon, as well as the French Open. Margaret was a lifelong member and active participant in the Methodist Church. She played the piano, sang in the church choir, and was part of the Princeton United Methodist Women. She loved the opera and was a staunch supporter of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She was also a member of the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority, the Philanthropic and Educational Organization for Women and the Boynton Woman’s Club.
Margaret is preceded in death by her parents, Annie and Alfred C. Shepard; and brother, Alfred Clayton Shepard.
Margaret is survived by her husband, Beverly of Ocean Ridge, Florida; her sister, Eleanor Marie Shepard of Boynton Beach; her five children, Terry Brown, Amy Brown, Nancy Kauffman, Janet Helm, and Anne Marie Schur; eight grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; her nephews, Craig and Mark Shepard; and two great nieces.
The burial will take place on Friday, January 29, 2016, 12:45 p.m., at the South Florida National Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at The First United Methodist Church of Boynton Beach on January 30, 2016 at 2 p.m. with Pastor Clark Edwards officiating. Scobee-Combs-Bowden Funeral Home of Boynton is handling the arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Princeton United Methodist Church, 7 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton, NJ, 08542 or Florida Southern College, 111 Lake Hollingsworth Dr., Lakeland, Florida, 33801.
The family wishes to extend their gratitude to the TrustBridge Health Hospice of Palm Beach County for creating a peaceful environment and all of their support throughout this journey.