Memorial Service

John Sauerman

The Lawrenceville School will celebrate the life and mourn the passing of long time History teacher John Sauerman on Sunday, May 6, 2 p.m. in the Edith Memorial Chapel at The Lawrenceville School, 2500 Main Street, Lawrenceville. All are invited to attend.

His mother, Irma H. Sauerman, brother, Eric W. Sauerman, and sister-in-law Peggy L. Sauerman, all of Long Beach, N.Y. as well as nephews Douglas E. Sauerman (Deer Park, N.Y.) and Ryan C. Sauerman (Washington, D.C.), survive John. His father (Jack E. Sauerman) and brother (Karl A. Sauerman) predeceased him. John was 65 years old.

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David Lewis Blackwell

David Lewis Blackwell, age 70, died on Saturday, April 21, 2018 at his home in Princeton. David was a passionate and engaged member of the Hopewell Valley community throughout his life, dedicated to studying and sharing local history, architecture, and genealogy. He was recently named Hopewell Township’s first official Town Historian in recognition of his life’s work, an honor which brought him great joy. He was a tireless advocate for historic preservation and local history education.

David was born and raised in Pennington by Harold Blackwell and Hazel Schneider Blackwell. At the age of ten, David discovered his love for family lore and historical research. He attended Hopewell Valley Central High School before training as an architect at the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell. Throughout the years, his true love remained exploring the connections that defined his ancestors and the community. He was appointed to the Hopewell Township Historic Sites Committee and later became a founding member of the Hopewell Township Historic Preservation Commission. David was integral in researching and nominating dozens of historically significant sites to the Township’s register of Historic Places, and used his architectural background in renovating historic homes for his own family.

David was a longtime trustee of the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, having served as its President four times as well as its Secretary. Following his professional retirement in 2013, he continued his personal research, writing and assisting with numerous publications. In recent years, he held the position of archivist and curator for The Hopewell Museum. This position provided him with ongoing opportunities to interact with the public and schoolchildren. He loved to share his knowledge with others and freely gave of himself to many other researchers, authors, museum visitors, and descendants of Hopewell-area families. He contributed substantially to both Pennington Borough’s and Hopewell Borough’s recent 125^th-anniversary celebrations.

David was loved and appreciated by all who knew him for his brilliant mind, remarkable memory, warmth, and wit. His impersonations of old British comedy sketches left his kids in stitches, while his vivid tales of yesteryear captivated history enthusiasts of all ages. He is irreplaceable to his colleagues, friends, and family. In devoting his life to preserving and celebrating our past, he wove himself into the fabric of our community and now holds an honored place in our local history among his ancestors.

David is survived by his five children, Rebecca of Mexico City; Morgan of Rye, N.Y.; Andrew of Southbury, Conn.; Jessica and Sarah of Denver, Colo.; their mother, Barbara of Princeton; his six grandchildren Haley, Benjamin, Jolie, Katherine, Victoria, and Maisie; and his brother Thomas of Kissimmee, Fla.

His family invited those who wanted to share remembrances of David to the viewing, which took place from 4-8 p.m. on Thursday, April 26^th at Blackwell Memorial Home in Pennington. Burial at Harbourton Cemetery and a memorial gathering were held on Friday. For condolences, visit www.blackwellmh.com.

Gifts in David’s memory may be made to The Hopewell Museum or the Hopewell Valley Historical Society.

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Lorraine Tams

Having grown up in Trenton during the Great Depression, Lorraine had a life-long appreciation for the simple things in life: love of family, nature, music, and words. She graduated Trenton High School in 1940 and became a legal secretary at a local firm, where she met her future husband, Theodore T. Tams, Jr. A law school student at the time, “Bud” was immediately smitten by the young lady behind the front desk.

Married in 1948, Lorraine and Bud raised six children, enjoyed ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Lorraine immersed her children in beauty and nature, sitting us in her lap on the upstairs balcony to teach us constellations, always starting with the North Star to blaze paths through night skies.

Lorraine looked to nature to define beauty and heal illness, growing flowers for bouquets, harvesting berries for “Tams Jams,” and drying herbs for tonics. She collected cookbooks, read poems to us aloud, and wrote her own.

Lorraine earned her broker’s license and sold Princeton-area real estate for more than three decades. She held old friends close and charmed new ones at every pass. Her beautiful singing voice graced various choirs, including St. Paul Church and Rossmoor Chorus. Even as most other memories abandoned her, she always remembered how to be a hostess and the lyrics to favorite songs.

She loved her husband and children unconditionally, and nursed Bud through 25 years of a debilitating illness, later addressing her own degenerating health with pragmatism and grace. A loving wife, nurturing mother, adoring grandmother, and proud great-grandmother, Lorraine Tams died peacefully at her home, with her family there, at the age of 94.

Lorraine was predeceased by Theodore T. Tams, Jr. and daughter Ruth F. Tams. She is survived by her children, Simon (Daren) Tams, Georgia (Hugh) Tams, Colin (Deborah) Tams, Brian (Laurie) Tams, and Daphne (Kent) Ireland; grandchildren Ingrid, Lilia, Andria, Christian, Caroline, Leah, Sean, Claire, Larissa, and Gavin; and great-grandchildren Nicolas and Noah.

Lorraine was a champion blood donor for the American Red Cross, and a member of Springdale Golf Club, Nassau Club, Garden Club, Present Day Club, Coldwell Banker Schlott, St. Paul’s Church, Herb Society of America, and Rossmoor Chorus.

On Monday, May 21, 2018, visitation 9:30 — 10:30 a.m. at Kimble Funeral Home, Princeton, followed by a memorial mass at St. Paul Church, Princeton at 11 a.m. and burial at Princeton Cemetery.

Donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.