Winthrop Seeley Pike

Winthrop Seeley Pike, former mayor of Princeton Township and long-time resident of Princeton and Montgomery Townships, died July 6 at Brandywine Senior Living at Princeton. He was 92.

Born in Boston and raised in Wellesley, Mass., he was the son of the late Lewis Freeman Pike and Vida Seeley Pike; and brother of the late Vida P. Morrison.

He graduated from Williams College in 1941 with a BA in physics. Immediately following graduation, he entered the U.S. Army, serving as a radar officer in the Signal Corps during World War II in both the European and Pacific theaters. In 1946, he was honorably discharged with the rank of Captain.

He then moved to Princeton and joined the technical staff at RCA Laboratories, David Sarnoff Research Center. There, he worked closely with Vladimir K. Zworykin on the early development of color television. Among many other projects, he also developed sensory devices for the sight-impaired, highway vehicle control devices, color television receivers, storage tubes, weather balloon sensory instruments, portable television cameras and encoders, integrated circuits for stereo sound, and high altitude balloon-born television systems. He earned 17 U.S. patents and was the recipient of five RCA achievement awards. Following his retirement from RCA in 1987, he consulted with Princeton Scientific Enterprises, Inc. in the development of a blood gas analyzer device and high voltage ignition circuitry for military ordnance.

On a visit home to Wellesley, he met his future wife, Nancy E. Peakes at church. They were married in 1954. He was elected to the Princeton Regional School Board in 1967, and served for fourteen years, including several years as president. In 1981, he was elected to Princeton Township Committee, and as a member of the Committee, was elected to the position of mayor for the following five years.

A long-time member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Rocky Hill, he served as a member of the vestry for 19 years. He had also served as a lay reader, usher, and member of the vestry of All Saints Episcopal Church in Princeton. He started playing the organ in his teens, and was an avid musician, favoring, in particular, early classical music. A model train enthusiast and voracious reader, he relished family vacations in the Adirondack mountains and seeing the great pipe organs of Europe. During retirement, he also enjoyed monthly meetings with his fellow retired RCA employees and the weekly Tuesday Lunch Group. He also authored several articles for consumer electronics and model railroading magazines.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Nancy; and their children, Kristina Hadinger and her husband Alfred; Christopher and his wife Leila Shahbender; Karen, Jonathan and his wife Kelly; Eric and his partner Stefan Steil; and Amy Sharpless and her husband Peter. He is also survived by nine grandchildren: Jon, Alfred, Julia, Alexandra, Katherine, Justin, Morgan, Sophia, and Serena.

The funeral will be held at 10 a.m. on July 11, 2012 at Trinity Episcopal Church, Crescent Avenue, Rocky Hill.

Burial will be in All Saints Cemetery, Princeton.

Calling hours took place on Tuesday, July 10 at The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in his name may be made to the Trinity Episcopal Church Rocky Hill Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 265, Rocky Hill, N.J. 08553; The Mary Jacobs Memorial Library, 64 Washington Street, Rocky Hill, N.J. 08553; or Montgomery EMS, P.O. Box 105, Belle Mead, N.J. 08502.

———

Donald P. Shaffer

Donald Paul Shaffer, 72, died on July 7, 2012 at the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro.

Don was born on June 16, 1940, in Philadelphia, the son of the late Dorothy and Earl Shaffer. He was a graduate of The Haverford School (1958), Cornell University (1962), and the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton graduate school (1964). His athletic accomplishments included acting as captain of the Cornell basketball team and being elected into Haverford’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

After military service in the U.S. Army from 1964-1966, Don started a 30-year career in the textile business, first with E.I. DuPont, and then joining J.P. Stevens, International Division, in 1976. He served as president of the division from 1985 to 1992.

Having been a resident of Montgomery Township for 44 years, he participated in many activities in the area with his family. He especially enjoyed the friendship of fellow members at The Bedens Brook Club in Skillman, where he had played paddle tennis and golf. He was also a member of the Old Guard of Princeton.

Don is survived by his wife, Susan Ertel Shaffer, married 46 years; his brother and sister-in-law, Stephen and Karen Shaffer of Pennington; his sister and brother-in-law, Mary and David Lemire of Scottsdale, Ariz.; his son and daughter-in-law, Donald Hepworth Shaffer and Jennifer Alba Bensadoun of Berkeley, Calif. and their children, Sabine (4) and Samuel (1); and his son and daughter-in-law, Andrew Evans Shaffer and Jennifer Guilbert Shaffer of Bloomfield, Mich. and their children, Andrew (8) and Kara (5).

There was a private burial at the Rocky Hill Cemetery, followed by a memorial reception for friends at The Bedens Brook Club in Skillman on Tuesday, July 10.

In lieu of flowers, those who wish may make a donation to The Haverford School, Class of 1958, 450 Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, Pa. 19041.

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

———

George R. Bishop Jr.

George Reginald Bishop Jr., professor of French and longtime Princeton resident, died July 4 at Stonebridge at Montgomery. The beloved husband of the late Alice Elgin, he was 90.

Born in Altoona, Pa., he was the son of The Reverend George R. Bishop and Charlotta Miller Bishop. He graduated from Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia, Pa. and entered Princeton University in 1940.

From 1943 to 46, he served in the Army as an artillery survey officer with the 314th Field Artillery, 80th Division, returning home as a Captain and eventually promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. On his return, he received his Princeton BA degree with highest honors in French language and culture and began graduate studies in Romance languages.

After receiving his PhD from Princeton in 1952, he was appointed to the department of French at Rutgers University where he subsequently became assistant and later associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He served as acting dean of the College from 1972 to 1974 and chair of the French department from 1984 to 1990. He was chairman of the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages from 1965 to 1966. A member of the class of 1944 at Princeton, he was formerly class president and reunion chairman.

A longtime member of Trinity Episcopal Church, he served as warden of the vestry from 1965 to 1969, vestryman multiple times, member of the All Saints Chapel Committee, delegate to the Diocesan Convention several times, and co-chair of the 21st Century Fund from 1995 to 2000. He helped found the Trinity Counseling Service in 1968. For 26 years, he worked on the Trinity rummage sale, first as co-chair with his wife, Alice, and then as chair. He served as trustee and vice president of the William Alexander Proctor Foundation from 1956 to 1984.

He is survived by his daughters, Anne Bishop Faynberg of East Brunswick, N.J., Charlotta Miller Bishop of Princeton, and Alice Anderson Bishop of Washington, D.C.

Funeral services were held on Saturday, July 7, 2012 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Princeton. Burial was private at the family plot in Huntingdon, Pa.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions, in his name, may be made to Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Street, Princeton, N.J. 08540.

Arrangements were under the direction of Kimble Funeral Home, Princeton.

Extend condolences at
TheKimbleFuneralHome.com.

———

Wilbur Gunnell

Wilbur Gunnell, age 93, passed away July 4, 2012 at Merwick Care and Rehabilitation in Plainsboro.

Born in Bedford County, Va., he lived in Princeton for 77 years. Mr. Gunnell retired from Princeton University Custodial Services with 24 years of service.

He is the son of the late Annie Austin Gunnell and Oliver Gunnell; and brother of the late Nellie Williamson and Andrew Gunnell.

Mr. Gunnell is survived by three nieces, Marie Johnson, Shirley W. Ganges, and Jean Williamson; and many grand nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 16, 2012 at Clay Street Learning Center, 2 Clay Street, Princeton.

Arrangements are by the Hughes Funeral Home.

———