Bob Dougherty

Robert Ely Dougherty, Bob to all who knew him, died peacefully on April 9th, 2017. He was raised in Princeton, New Jersey and Old Lyme, Connecticut.

Bob’s parents, Grace Ely Bassett Dougherty and Gregg Dougherty, were longtime residents of Princeton. Gregg was professor of organic chemistry at Princeton University. Grace was raised by Ernest Cushing Richardson, who was the librarian at Princeton University from 1890 to 1925.

Bob’s education started with Miss Fine’s School and Princeton Country Day School. He then attended Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire. There he served as a president of his class and a class correspondent for many years.

Following his cherished years at Exeter, Bob returned to Princeton University and was a highly congenial member of the Class of 1950. He re-settled in Princeton for the duration of his life.

After Princeton University, Bob started as a real estate agent in the offices of Edmund Cook and Associates and served in the National Guard. Bob then co-founded his own real estate firm, Stewardson and Dougherty Realtors. Sadly, his partner Bill Stewardson passed away soon after the firm’s start-up.

Bob persevered with a loyal team of real estate associates who opened and closed many doors in the greater Princeton area. His firm’s slogan was Stewardson and Dougherty Associates — Your Key to Excellence. One of several premier real estate agencies in Princeton, Stewardson and Dougherty closed its doors in 1995. He then consulted and helped establish the Coldwell Banker Schlott offices on Nassau Street.

In addition to his professional life, Bob served as a trustee of the American Boy Choir and Princeton Day School. Bob was also a member of the Pretty Brook Club, Nassau Club, and the Mayflower Society.

Beyond the role of a trustee, Bob supported many civic events, often in quiet and unheralded ways. Some of his greater Princeton family may remember that he was particularly steadfast in his support of the Princeton Hospital Fete. And that had its rewards — Bob won its famous car lottery, not once but twice. He drove home two new Ford Thunderbird convertibles in less than ten years. This was a story that he loved to tell. “What good luck,” he would say with his perpetually optimistic voice.

Bob was also a very dedicated servant to his religious home of the Nassau Presbyterian Church. An elder of the church, he was also a generous supporter of its renowned music program and renovation projects.

In his private affairs, Bob’s life settled beautifully when he married Patricia Paine in 1987. Her previous marriage had ended in divorce. For 30 years, he relished his role as a loving husband to Pat, and stepfather to three sons, Thos Paine (wife Lisa) and brothers John (wife Patty), and Rod (partner Li); and grandfather to five grandchildren, Sarah, Laura (husband David), Jack (wife Jessi), Emily and Evan. Also, surviving Bob are his cherished nephews, Gregg Dougherty (wife Robin), Marsh Dougherty (wife Mary Ann), and grandnephews Michael, Miles, Ryan and grandniece Kat. He was predeceased by his wife Patricia Paine Dougherty in May 2016, his older brother Jim Dougherty in 2005, and by his sister-in-law Jeanne Dougherty in 2013.

A memorial service will be held in the Niles Chapel at Nassau Presbyterian Church on May 13 at 2 p.m., followed by a private family interment at the Dougherty family gravesite in the Princeton Cemetery. Contact stepson Thomas Paine (609) 865-1984 or ThomasHPaine@gmail.com for additional information. Memorial donations may be made to Nassau Presbyterian Church.

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Martha L. Karraker

Martha L. Karraker, 99, of Princeton died at Acorn Glen on Wednesday, April 12, 2017.

Born in Butte, Montana she has been a resident of Princeton since 1960. Martha was the past vice-president of the Mid-Atlantic Region of AAUW and longtime member of the Nassau Presbyterian Church as well as a board member of both the Mercer County Planning Council and the Delaware-Raritan Girl Scout Council.

Daughter of the late Thomas Lloyd and Frances (Carter) Jones and wife of the late I. Oliver Karraker, Jr., she is survived by two daughters Ruth K. Kreider and Joyce M. Edwards; two sons-in-law Harry Kreider and Art Edwards; four grandchildren Marc Kreider, Wayne Kreider, Suzanne Edwards, and Amy Sherrod; and five beloved great-grandchildren.

There was a private graveside service in the Rocky Hill Cemetery on April 17, 2017.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to AAUW 1310 L Street NW Suite 1000, Washington, DC 2005 or the American Cancer Society.

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

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Julia Willis Philip

Julia Willis Philip, a longtime resident of Claverack, N.Y., passed away peacefully in Hudson, N.Y. surrounded by her loving family. She was 92. Mrs. Philip grew up in Princeton.

Mrs. Philip was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1924 and moved to Princeton with her family when she was a young child. Her father, Professor Clodius Willis, was on the faculty at Princeton University. Mrs. Philip attended Princeton High School, Vassar College then Westhampton College at the University of Richmond. After college graduation, she worked as a reporter for the Princeton Herald, under the editorship of a Princeton graduate and decorated World War II Marine Corps veteran, John Van Ness Philip, whom she would marry in 1952.

Mrs. Philip, was one of the first women fruit growers in Columbia County, and for over 30 years, managed “Philip Orchards,” in Claverack, first with her husband, John Van Ness Philip, then as sole proprietor for 24 years following his death. The farm, which has been in the family for more than 280 years, is one of the oldest continually operating family farms in New York State, and is part of the Dutch legacy of the Hudson Valley.

A pioneer working woman and civil rights stalwart, she raised five children while holding jobs in New York City, for many years at Fund For the City of New York and at the English Speaking Union. During the 1960s she was part of the Harlem Initiative, a group of Manhattan PTA mothers who helped bus children down from Harlem after bus drivers refused to comply with new laws that mandated integration of the public schools.

In 1967 she helped her husband found Modern Distribution Management, a newsletter, that became a leading publication on business innovations. In 1975, she and her husband moved their publication from Manhattan to Claverack and devoted themselves to the management of his family’s historic ancestral home and farm. Over the years, Mrs. Philip opened the family’s 1802 colonnaded house “Talavera” for Columbia County Historical Society house tours and events.

In 1992 she was part of the founding group that worked to save the Hudson Opera House from demolition. She went on to serve on the newly formed Opera House Board for many years, working to initiate the restoration efforts, which have led to its eventual flourishing as the Arts Center it is today. She also sat on the boards of two important New State Historic Sites: Wilderstein in Rhinebeck and Clermont in Germantown. She was a longstanding trustee of the Columbia County Historical Society and in 2014 was honored for her contributions by being designated A First Columbian.

She is survived by her siblings: Sallie Jesser (Princeton); Lee Willis (Charlottesville, Va.); and Clodius Willis (Pittsburgh, Pa.); her children: John Van Ness Philip III (Andrew Loren Resto); William Churchill Houston Philip (Mana Kobuchi Philip); Thomas Willis Philip (Emily Beth Cohen); Katherine Philip Chansky (James Chansky); Leila Stott Philip Evans (Garth Evans); nephews, nieces, and grandchildren.

A service will be held at Christ Church, Hudson, New York at 11:30 a.m., Saturday, April 29, 2017. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in her name be sent to the Columbia County Historical Society, 5 Albany Ave Kinderhook, NY 12106, or to the Greenport Fire Department Rescue Squad 3 Newman Road Hudson, NY 12534.