Judith Peck Erdman

Judith Peck Erdman of Princeton and Edgartown, Mass., passed away peacefully on June 8th with her four children by her side. She was 92 years old.

Judy was born on May 11th, 1926, in New Rochelle, N.Y., to her parents Edna H. Peck and Frederic C. Peck. Her father was chairman of Peck & Peck, a prominent women’s clothing concern based in NYC. and founded by her grandfather in 1890. When she was seven years old her family moved to Rye, N.Y., where she attended Rye Country Day School and learned to play tennis at the Manursing Island Club, a sport that she would enjoy into her 80s. In 1940 she enrolled as a boarder at the Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, Conn., from which she graduated in 1944. While at Farmington she was captain of the “Squirrels,” one of three intercampus sports teams, and established several lifelong friendships. Throughout her childhood she enjoyed summer trips with her family to the Adirondack League Club, situated on Little Moose Lake in Old Forge, N.Y.

Upon graduating from Miss Porter’s, Judy joined her parents in their NYC. apartment at 485 Park Avenue. After attending the Barmore Secretarial School she first worked at Vogue Magazine and then at Junior Bazaar Magazine, where she was secretary to the editor. She was on a blind date when she met the love of her life, Harold B. Erdman, whom she married on September 25, 1948. Judy and Hal lived in NYC, Greenwich, Conn., and Phoenix, Ariz. before settling in Hal’s hometown of Princeton. While bringing up four children in Princeton and summering with her family in Martha’s Vineyard, Judy brought joy to everyone she knew. She was warm and friendly, bright and shiny, graceful and poised, and had a wonderful ability to see the positive in everyone.

Judy had joyous times in Princeton with her family and many close friends. Between school, ice hockey, ballet, and playdates, she found time to take her four young children to see the Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965, an experience none of them would ever forget. In Princeton, she was a member of the Nassau Presbyterian Church, the Pretty Brook Tennis Club, the Springdale Golf Club, the Contemporary Garden Club of Princeton, the Present Day Club, and the Nassau Club. In Martha’s Vineyard, she was a member of the Edgartown Yacht Club, the Chappaquiddick Beach Club, and Crackatuxet, where she swam in the surf with her grandchildren.

Judy was pre-deceased by her twin older sisters, Anne Cumpston and Jane Halsell, and her loving husband of 65 years, Harold B. Erdman. She is survived by her four children, Guy Erdman, Fred (and Cindy) Erdman, Jody Erdman, and Carl (and Debra) Erdman; nine grandchildren; two great-grandsons; four brothers-in-law; and 18 nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Miss Porter’s School, 60 Main Street, Farmington, CT 06032 and the Princeton Area Community Foundation, 15 Princess Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648. A celebration of her life will be held on September 22nd at the Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, NJ.

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Brenda Mary Davies

On Saturday, December 2nd 2017, former Princeton resident Brenda Mary Davies celebrated her 100th birthday on November 26, 2017, with 20 friends and family at Pennswood Village retirement community in Newtown, Pa. Brenda, née Deakin, born in Birmingham, England, in 1917, received a centenarian congratulation letter from Buckingham Palace with a photograph and the signature of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II. Brenda’s three children — Christine, Hugh, and Philip — accompanied by three of her grandchildren and two nieces who flew over from England for the occasion, led the toasts and birthday salutations.

Brenda Mary Davies passed away peacefully on May 10th. Her former husband, Horton Marlais Davies, had passed on May 11, 2005. The couple had emigrated from Oxford, England in January 1956, when Horton had accepted a professorship in the Department of Religion at Princeton University where he taught until his retirement in 1984. The couple divorced in 1972.

Brenda, a graduate of Froebel training in England, taught kindergarten for several years at the former Miss Mason’s School on Bayard Lane, Princeton. According to her wishes, her body was donated to Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine in Philadelphia. The family asked that any memorial gifts be sent to Pennswood Village, 1382 Newtown-Langhorn Road, Newtown, PA 18940.

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Richard Lee Landauer

September 30, 1962  —June 10, 2018

Richard Lee Landauer, age 55, passed away in Allentown on June 10, 2018.

Richard grew up in Prince-ton, and was the son of the late Harry Lee Landauer and Sallie Warren Landauer. He was also predeceased by brothers, Keith Landauer and Mark Landauer.

Richard graduated from Princeton High School, and was a talented carpenter. Richard had a very kind and generous heart, would help anyone in need, and was always a faithful friend.

Richard loved the beach, salt and fresh water fishing, and rock and roll. He especially loved his family, and relished family get-togethers and holiday dinners. He was most proud of his two sons, Evan Landauer, of West Virginia, and Keith Landauer, currently serving in the Air Force. Aside from his sons, Richard is survived by his sister and brother-in-law, Susan and Joseph Cimerola, of Allentown; his brother, Allen Lee Smith, of Cherokee, N.C.; and several aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Arrangements are under the direction of Stephens Funeral Home, Inc., Allentown, Pa. Memories and condolences may be shared at (www.stephensfuneral.com). A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to The Allentown Rescue Mission (www.allentownrescuemission.org).

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Ann Puffer McGoldrick

Ann Puffer McGoldrick, a resident of Princeton for 51 years, died suddenly on May 23^rd at the age of 75.

Ann was born in Boston to Charlotte Chapman Puffer and Robert W. Puffer, Jr. She grew up in Wellesley, Massachusetts where she attended the Dana Hall School. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Vassar College in 1965, writing her senior thesis on the Israeli-Palestine conflict.

In 1966, at age 23, she married her beloved John L. McGoldrick. Together, they were a formidable team. They moved to Princeton, where they lived for the remainder of her life. Early on, she worked for the Educational Testing Service, where, among other things, she was instrumental in developing the GRE exam. Ann’s contributions to the Princeton community were deep and broad, and demonstrated her passion for social and political issues, and especially later in her life, to the arts.

Ann was elected to the Board of Education for the Princeton Public Schools for 12 years, and served as President for a number of years. She was deeply committed to the students of Princeton and cared particularly about issues of equity. She served on the Princeton Borough Zoning Board for 17 years, and was involved with The Crisis Ministry (now Arm In Arm), which helps secure basic needs of food and housing to residents of Mercer County. A Friend of the Institute for Advanced Study since 1999, she served on its Executive Committee from 2001 to 2006. More recently, she was a valued member of the Institutional Review Board of Princeton University. Her sharp mind, no-nonsense manner, and willingness to speak up on issues she cared about made her an invaluable asset to these organizations. Ann was, in all things, a “do-er”, a practical person who got things done, and who valued that quality in others.

Ann was a strong advocate for the arts, and had a special passion for choral music. She provided volunteer support to the choirs at Trinity Church, and served on the board of Young Audiences of New Jersey. One of the great joys of her life was The Princeton Singers, the extraordinary singing group, with whom she was involved for 35 years. As Chair of The Princeton Singers Board, she worked tirelessly to support and foster the group, whose music brought her tremendous happiness.

Above all else, Ann was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend. She was steady, kind, and generous, and was humble beyond measure, always thinking about what she could do for others and wishing to keep herself out of the spotlight. Those who loved her always had a staunch and loving ally. She was an expert chef, a whiz at the New York Times crossword puzzle, a voracious consumer of political news, and a strong advocate who possessed a rare gentleness and grace. She was a supporter of Democratic causes, except when she saw special talent and wisdom on the other side. She was genuinely and fiercely egalitarian, with no exceptions.

She deeply loved the summers she spent with family and friends on Cape Cod since 1966, and was rejuvenated each year by the natural beauty and solace she found there. Her absence will be acutely felt on the beaches of Wellfleet this summer, and every summer to come.

Ann is survived by John, her husband of 51 years; son Scott McGoldrick and his wife Linda Noel, of Princeton; daughter Jennifer Solomon and her husband Josh Solomon, of Needham, Massachusetts; grandchildren Olivia and Julia McGoldrick, and Sam and Nathaniel Solomon, all the apples of her eye; brother Robert W. Puffer, III and his wife Jane Puffer of Acton, Massachusetts; and countless friends.

A memorial service in her honor will be held on Saturday, June 16 at Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Street, Princeton, beginning at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Arm In Arm (www.arminarm.org, 61 Nassau Street, Princeton) or The Princeton Singers (www.princetonsingers.org, P.O. Box 344, Princeton).

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Ann Hochschild Poole

Ann “Rooney” Hochschild Poole, 93, died peacefully on June 5, 2018 in her home at Stonebridge, in Skillman, N.J.

She was born August 29, 1924 in New York City the eldest child of Walter Hochschild and Kathrin Samstag. She attended The Brearley School, New York, N.Y., was graduated cum laude from Vassar College in 1946, and earned a master’s degree in counseling from Rider University in 1983.

In 1947 she married Richard G. Poole Sr. of Lake Forest, Ill., with whom she raised four children in Clinton, N.Y. before moving abroad to France in 1964. They returned in 1966 to Princeton, N.J. After receiving her master’s degree she worked at several agencies in the Princeton area, including the Counseling Center at Rider University. Together with her daughter she created and led workshops on mother-daughter relationships, which she conducted at the Princeton YMCA/YWCA. She served on the board of Family and Children’s Services of Central New Jersey, volunteered at the Lewis School and the Princeton Hospital, and was active in the Home Friends Program of the Princeton Senior Resource Center.

A lover of music and the performing arts, she acted in a number of amateur musical theater performances in upstate New York and performed with PJ&B Productions in Princeton, N.J. She was a lifelong patron of New York’s theaters and regularly attended McCarter Theatre in Princeton until the time of her death.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Richard G. Poole Sr.; and her two sisters, Patricia Hochschild Labalme (George Labalme Jr.) and Lynn Hochschild Boillot (Claude E. Boillot). She is survived by her three sons and one daughter, Richard G. Poole Jr. (Kathryn Gately) of DeKalb, Ill., Peter W. Poole (Kathleen Eickman) of Rochester, N.H., Kathrin W. Poole (Howard Tomlinson) of Princeton, N.J., and Walter H. Poole (Suvarnala Yeluri) of Phnom Penh, Cambodia; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Her cremated remains will be buried in Blue Mountain Lake, N.Y., in the Adirondack Park, where a private service will be held. A memorial service will be held in Princeton, N.J. at a later date to be announced. In lieu of flowers, gifts in her memory may be made to The Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts (PO Box 205, Blue Mountain Lake, NY 12812; www.adirondackarts.org/product/8DDF932/donation); and the Indian Lake Theater (PO Box 517, Indian Lake, NY 12842; www.indianlaketheater.org/support-us/).

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Otto Marcolini

Otto Marcolini, Princeton native, passed silently into history on Friday, March 30, 2018. Otto was the only son of Lucia and Luigi of Princeton and had four sisters: Laura, Anna, Monica.

Otto Marcolini was a self-made man, interested in just about everything under the sun; a high school graduate who self-educated after entering the workforce. He worked in the trades and construction for 45 years and belonged to the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 5. He was a lifelong member in the AFL/CIO Bricklayers National Union, and worked on most of the major public and private buildings in Mercer County. They included many buildings at Princeton University, ETS, and BMS, Trenton State College, and the Princeton School projects.

He was a regular around all of the local golf courses and enjoyed challenging people to match wits with his fantastic memory! Otto loved golf, as a former caddie and student of the game toting bags around golf clubs in the Princeton area.  (For more informaton Google — L.A. Parker: Nobody knows Mercer County golf like Otto Marcolini.)

He was a friend at Lawrenceville’s local farms and shops and was loved and will be missed by all. The Saturday morning Maidenhead Bagel Breakfast Club is not the same without him!

His philosophies as he lived his life included bear no malice, be nice to his fellow man, do his share of the work, just give kindness, and forgiveness is less of a burden. The greatest advice he offered to those in other generations was to respect their elders’ advice and do not feel sorry for yourself and your situation, life can be cruel and any feeling of illness will pass, make the best effort you can every day. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and Otto chased it ‘til the end! 

Survived by his great nephew and his wife James and Kristen Steinmetz, Otto raised Jim as his own son and was instrumental in getting him through college. Otto was also stepfather to his former wife Angela’s son, Alfred.

It is the wish of his family that a memorial graveside burial and service be held at St. Paul’s Cemetery (216 Nassau St., Princeton, NJ 08542), on June 29, his 94th birthday, at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers please send donations to St Paul’s school athletics via mheucke@stpaulsofprinceton.org.

Kimble Funeral Home, 1 Hamilton Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08542. (609) 924-0018.