Norman Peter Herzberg

Everyone who knew Norman Herzberg, mathematician, was shocked and saddened by his sudden death after a short illness. He died March 29 at his home in Princeton with his wife of 52 years, Barbara, by his side. He was 82 years old.

Born in 1937 deep in the heart of Brooklyn to the late Hans and Herta Herzberg, he leaves a brother, Edward, of Hazlitt, N.J., a sister, Susan Leon, of  Baldwin, Long  Island, as well as cousins, nieces, and nephews.

After graduating early from James Madison High School in Brooklyn in 1954, Norman attended Columbia University, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1958. He then headed to M.I.T., where he earned his doctorate in mathematics in 1965. He joined the Institute of Defense Analyses in Princeton in 1967 and worked there, contributing numerous classified papers, until his retirement in 2000.

Norman was a devoted and companionable husband to Barbara, whom he met on a blind date in 1964 when she was in the original company of the Loeb theater (now A.R.T.) in Cambridge, Mass. He used to leave his motorcycle helmet on her dressing table to let her know he was up in the light booth watching the show. They were married in the M.I.T. chapel in 1967 and subsequently  moved to Princeton in 1968 after a summer of math conference in Monterey, Calif.

They traveled extensively together often to Greece and its islands, but also to Malta, Madeira, Morocco, Mexico, China, Egypt, India, the British Isles, France, Italy, or as his wife used to say, “anywhere that stuff was older” than she. Norman was an avid and skilled photographer and documented their travels in vivid detail. He loved mathematics, computer technology, travel, good conversation. Until he lost his hearing in 1965, he greatly enjoyed classical music and fondly recalled waiting in the freezing rain for standing room at the Metropolitan Opera, Symphony Hall, or a theater. As one can perhaps tell from his photo, he also enjoyed conviviality and good food. His wife says, “He was the best charcoal cook in the business.”

He valiantly battled his hearing loss to remain connected and involved in the community. He belonged to Community Without Walls House 2, where he was on the Steering Committee, keeping the membership list up to date. He was also a remarkably good reader participating in the CWW 2 Play Reading group.

He will be very much missed for his wit, his hearty laugh, and his more than incisive and perceptive insights into everything.

Donations may be made in Normans’ name to Feeding America, Doctors Without Borders, or any other charity that works towards abating human suffering. There will be some kind of memorial when the current social distancing is no longer in effect.

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Anthony Tabell

Anthony (Tony) Tabell, 88, of Exeter, NH, and formerly of Princeton, NJ, died peacefully on Monday, April 27, 2020.

He was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, NY, to Edmund W. and Margaret (Suydam) Tabell. He grew up in Riverside, CT, and graduated from St Luke’s School and Colgate University, Class of 1952. After serving in the Army, he joined his father at Walston and Company where he consulted with a variety of institutions and pursued technical market research, inspired largely by his father Edmund.

In 1965, he became senior vice-president, a member of the board of directors, and the director of technical research at Walston and Company.  Tony was one of the earliest practitioners of technical market analysis, having learned the value of  point and figure charts from his father Edmund, and subsequently  shifting to computer models as early as the late 50s and early 60s. In an interview with Professor Andrew Lo of MIT, Mr. Tabell commented that “I liked computers. I liked sitting down and writing computer programs in assembly language… it was a natural marriage with what I was doing with technical analysis, because technical analysis is analysis of data… I’m probably one of the first people who tried to evaluate stock price returns on a computer, necessarily a mainframe.” Tony also authored the Tabell Market Letter, a weekly publication he took over from his father, after his death, in 1965. The letter, a Wall Street institution since 1944, boasted a circulation of over 100,000. In addition, he was a founding member of the Market Technicians Association (now the CMT) and served as its president from 1975-76. He was a member of its board of directors until his retirement in 1993.

In 1970, Mr. Tabell left Walston and Company in NYC to form, with Matt Delafield and Ashton Harvey, the Princeton, NJ, brokerage firm of  Delafield Harvey Tabell which initially operated as a division of Janney Montgomery Scott. The firm’s steady success caught the attention, in 1991, of the US Trust Company, and soon after, DHT merged with USTrust.

Tony was also an enthusiastic traveler and adventurer, a trait he passed down to his children and grandchildren. He and his wife, Ellen (Molwitz) Tabell, visited all seven continents, and especially enjoyed travels to Antarctica and eastern Africa, to which they journeyed three times on different family safaris. An avid skier and mountain climber, he skied throughout Europe and the western states, but was happiest in New England where he spent many hours on the slopes of Killington and Okemo with his daughters and grandchildren.

Tony, who grew up rooting for the Brooklyn Dodgers, was also a long-suffering fan of the New York Mets and counted their 1969 World Series victory as one of the happiest days of his life. In 1985, his tongue-in-cheek theory about the correlation of the team’s success and the stock market’s dips was picked up by the AP and appeared in newspapers across the country.

In addition to Ellen, his high school sweetheart and wife of 66 years, Tony is survived by his three daughters, Meg (John) Kasprak of Brunswick, ME, Roberta (Bob) Jordan of West Bath, ME, and Sarah (Steve) Nocka of Wellesley, MA. He will also be missed by his grandchildren Alex Kasprak, Nick Kasprak and his wife Emily, Chris Kasprak and his husband Danny, Molly Jordan and her husband, Andrew, Sarah Jordan, and Andrew, Kristen, and Thomas Nocka.

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Carolyn L. Patko

Carolyn L. Patko, 86, of Franklin Township passed away peacefully Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at the Center for Hope, Scotch Plains, NJ.

Born 1933 in Brooklyn, NY, her family moved to Griggstown, NJ, in the early 1940’s. She resided most of her life in Franklin Township, Somerset County where she was a member of Six Mile Run Reformed Church in Franklin Park.

After raising her three children, Carolyn worked as a secretary for many years at the Westminster Choir College and the Princeton Theological Seminary, both in Princeton, NJ. She was co-owner of the Yellow Rose Country/Western Bar, Manville, NJ, from 1987 thru 1997.

As a graduate of Princeton High School, she was a dedicated member of the Class of 1951 Reunion Committee. She was past president of the Little Rocky Hill Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary.

Carolyn was very talented and creative. In her retirement she enjoyed making things for her grandchildren. Besides stitching many projects and knitting many afghans, gloves, and hats, she was an avid painter, crafter, and cake decorator and a published poet. She even taught herself how to play the guitar.

Carolyn’s legacy and spirit live on through her loving family. She leaves behind her two sons and two daughters-in-law James J. and Kimberly Patko of Kendall Park, NJ, Joseph R. and Bridget Patko of Superior, MT, and four grandchildren, Amber Patko, April Patko, Aidan Patko, and Molly Patko. Daughter of the late Eugene and Florence Tornquist, wife of the late Joseph S. Patko, mother of the late Carol L. Patko, sister of the late Robert Tornquist, Jean Rutter-Levesque.

Arrangements are under the direction of the M.J. Murphy Funeral Home, Monmouth Junction.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a memorial service will be held at a later date.

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Joseph P. Moore

Joseph P. Moore, 78, passed away Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at home, surrounded by family. A full obituary and Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

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Betty Sander Thompson

Betty Sander Thompson, 90 formerly of Plainsboro, NJ, and most recently a resident at Stonebridge of Montgomery, Skillman, NJ, passed peacefully in her home on April 21, 2020.

Born June 26, 1929 in Glenville, WV, Betty spent the later part of her childhood in Gulfport, MS. She is predeceased by her husband Robert L. Thompson, Sr. and her parents John and Alice Sander.

Upon graduation from high school in Gulfport, MS, in 1947, Betty embarked on her future career by taking the “Hummingbird” train by herself to enter the University of Cincinnati’s School of Nursing. She graduated in June 1951 with a bachelor’s of science degree in Nursing. She played the flute in the orchestra at the University of Cincinnati and there she met fellow flute player, Robert Thompson, who became the love of her life! They went on to marry and spent 64 wonderful years together.

Betty, an avid tennis player, was involved in the USTA (United States Tennis Association) as an umpire and referee. In fact she was recruited back in 1979 to attend the first official USTA umpire’s certification clinic. In 1988 Betty received the Edwin Mellor Award for outstanding service as an umpire for the Middle States, USTA. Over the years she worked at a number of professional, collegiate, and junior tournaments as a line umpire, chair umpire, referee, and tournament director. In 2010 Betty retired and was recognized for her 32 years of service.

Betty was an active member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, most recently Chapter AE of Princeton, NJ., she was recognized as a 50 year member in 2016. PEO was always near and dear to Betty’s heart, she cherished the many relationships she developed and always valued the impact the educational projects had on those women benefiting from them. Betty was also a member of the Nassau Presbyterian Church.

Betty is survived by her five children, Robert Thompson, Jr. and his wife Mary Beth, Sandra Pollock, Susan Kurtain and her husband Bill, Steven Thompson, Laurie Randow, her adopted daughter Kathy Cook and her husband Tom, her brother James Sander and her sister Nancy Royalty. She is survived by 16 loving grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Betty was a remarkable woman whose strength instilled confidence in those who knew and loved her. She was an attentive and loving wife and mother. She will be missed dearly by her family.

Due to the coronavirus the family will celebrate Betty’s life later in the summer when they can all travel and be together safely.

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Al Angrisani

Government and Corporate Leader, Author, Philanthropist and Beloved Father and Grandfather

Albert (Al) Angrisani, 70, peacefully passed away on Thursday, April 23, at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center of Plainsboro, NJ. Born in Newark NJ, he lived much of his life in Princeton.

Throughout his life, Al held both government and corporate positions. He served as the Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Ronald Reagan from 1980 to 1984. He was the architect of the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982, which was one of the nation’s first public/private partnerships and played a major role in the economic recovery plan that created 16 million new jobs.

As a corporate leader, he led numerous successful public companies in his decades-long career including Harris Interactive, Inc., Greenfield Online/Ciao, and Total Research among others. Al was most proud of securing both their shareholder value and jobs for thousands of employees.

As an author, Al penned two books that became immediately popular in the business world. The first, Win One for the Shareholders, is a widely used primer for businesses struggling to survive in the competitive corporate world. His second book, From Last to First, drew on his own personal experiences to coach both individuals and businesses in building wealth and success. Al was also a regular commentator on national business news programs including CNBC, Fox Business, Newsmax, and Bloomberg TV.

Finally — and most importantly — he was a beloved father and grandfather, known as “Papa” to his seven grandchildren, Aiden, Reed, and Mabel Fratangelo, Landon and Noelle Nielsen, Cortland and Reese Gautieri. He is survived by three daughters and their husbands, Catherine and (Jason) Nielsen, Sarah and (Glenn) Fratangelo, and Elizabeth and (Eric) Gautieri, two brothers and two sisters, Frank, Russell and Marion Angrisani and Frances Lein.

A private graveside service will be held, with a memorial service to be held at a later date. As an expression of sympathy, memorial contributions may be sent to: The Ronald Reagan Foundation (reaganfoundation.org) or a charity of your choice.

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Scott McVay Petrone

Scott McVay Petrone died after a year-long illness on April 21, 2020, at his home in New York City. He was 47. Known for his many deep friendships, care, and support of others, and his athleticism and love of sports, Scott will be dearly missed by his family and friends.

Scott was born in Princeton, NJ, on January 15, 1973 and attended the Princeton Public Schools, graduating from Princeton High School in 1991. Remarkably, Scott earned 12 varsity letters at Princeton High School, lettering in soccer, swimming, and baseball from freshman through senior year. He captained his soccer, swimming, and baseball teams and earned All-State honors in soccer.

Scott attended Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, and graduated with a B.A. degree in economics. At Claremont, Scott was captain of the baseball team, earned four varsity letters, and was awarded the Arce Award for athletics.

After graduation, Scott embarked on a successful Wall Street career which began as a clerk on the New York Stock Exchange where he was the youngest head clerk in his firm’s history. He then held senior positions at Prudential Securities and Lazard Capital Markets as a convertible bond trader with responsibility for institutional sales, market making, capital commitment, and compliance.

Golf was a central part of Scott’s adult life and his friends and family have many cherished memories of the hours (sometimes full days) spent with Scott on the golf course and at Springdale Golf Club in particular where Scott was the Club Champion in 2012. Scott often walked away with the annual Petrone Open trophy and spent many hours organizing this much-loved family event.

Scott was also known to his friends and family for his encyclopedic knowledge of NYC and every restaurant that was worth visiting. You could call Scott with a destination and he would recommend a handful of excellent restaurants close by and sometimes pull strings to make a reservation for you. Scott loved good food and wanted to make sure that everyone was taken care of and having the best experience possible.

Throughout his life Scott was attached to his family and many friends, and doted on his nieces and nephews who were very dear to him and who loved him greatly in return. His friends treasured his spirit and sense of adventure, and the ease and enjoyment of being in his company. He will be remembered for his kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity, friendship, and respect and care for others.

Scott is survived by his parents, Ellen and Tom Petrone, his brothers, Michael, Andy and Bryan, his sisters-in-law, Emilie and Deborah, and his nieces and nephews, Claire, Benjamin, Drew, Calvin and Abby, in addition to many wonderful aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Memorial services are being held privately.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a contribution to 101: Need-Based Scholarships for Princeton High School Graduates (fund101.org); or Citymeals.org, where Scott delivered meals to the homebound in New York City.

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Mildred Mario
1939-2020

Mildred Martha Daume Mario, formerly of Princeton and known to everyone as Millie, died April 17th in Key West after a year-long battle with cancer. She was 80.

Born in Brooklyn to German immigrant parents who fled the collapsing Weimar Republic in 1930, she was educated in New York City public schools, and was awarded a scholarship to Hunter College. Her mother, who did not believe girls should go to college, insisted her youngest daughter join the workforce, so she embarked on a brief career as an executive secretary at CBS and Bristol Myers in Manhattan, jobs for which she freely admitted in later years she was not well suited.
In 1961 she married Ernest Mario of Clifton, NJ, whose best friend, Bob Stier, had married Millie’s elder sister Edith a few years before. The couple relocated to Rhode Island, where Ernie earned his PhD and their sons Christopher and Gregory were born. In 1966 they moved to Rochester, NY, where Ernie began his career in the pharmaceutical industry. Their third son, Jeremy, was born in Rochester.

In 1972 the family returned to New Jersey, first to Cherry Hill, then to Bridgewater, and finally to Princeton. In Princeton, Millie embarked on what would become a life-long devotion to historic preservation with the restoration of the Belford House, a landmark 1934 Tudor Revival on North Road she restored long before historic preservation became fashionable.

Ernie’s career took the couple to North Carolina and then London, where Ernie was chief executive of Glaxo in the late 1980s and early 1990s. At that time, it was still customary for the wife of a British chief executive to act as an ambassador for the company, a role Millie adopted with passion and skill, and for which she was paid one pound per year. As she later said, when she was first diagnosed with Stage IV cancer in March, 2019, “I’m a girl from Brooklyn who has traveled the world by private jet and I have been everywhere. I’ve had an amazing life.”

In Palo Alto, Millie took on her most ambitious restoration project, the John Adams Squire House. A 1904 Classical Revival landmark that had fallen into serious disrepair and had avoided the wrecking ball more than once, the project would lead to Millie’s appointment to the Palo Alto Historic Resources Board, which she would be chair for eight years. She also joined the board of the California Preservation Foundation, a statewide historic preservation advocacy and educational organization, eventually serving as president.

Ernie and Millie returned to the east coast to be nearer to their children and grandchildren in 2001, eventually settling in Key West. Millie is survived by her three sons and eight grandchildren: Christopher’s daughter Millicent, of Washington, DC; Gregory’s children Griffin, Chloe, Madeleine, and Brigitte, of Miami; and Jeremy’s children Gretchen, Reid, and Charles, of Durham, NC.

Millie was an exceptional wife, a loving if strict German mother, and she doted on her grandchildren. The bacon and French toast breakfasts she made for them is a memory that her grandchildren will always treasure and that her loving daughters-in-law will never be able to replicate.

Millie was uniquely tough, strong, wise, patient, opinionated, and kind. She saw the best in everyone, was generous with her affection and her time, and would have done absolutely anything for her grandchildren. She loved the beach, the daily crossword, Scrabble, exercise, her three sisters (Elizabeth Knocklein of Garner, NC; the late Edith Stier of Clifton, NJ; and Anna Daume of Ridgewood, NJ), a good Black Russian, and was absolutely insistent that the entire family would be together for Christmas and the Fourth of July each year.

A memorial is planned in Princeton this fall.

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Jean Marilyn (Farncombe) Davidson

Jean Marilyn (Farncombe) Davidson, age 76, passed away on Sunday, April 19, 2020 in Littleton, MA. Jean had a smile that could light up a room and a laugh that was infectious, even in her later years as dementia took hold of her. She will be dearly missed by all that came to know and love her.

Born on August 14, 1943 in Galt (now Cambridge), Ontario, Jean was one of four children born to the late John Ross and Luella May (Furlong) Farncombe. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ronald William Crosby Davidson, in 2016 and her younger brother, George Farncombe, in 2008.

Jean’s early years were spent on a farm in southern Ontario where her father was a farm hand. Growing up on the farm, she learned the importance of family, the value of hard work, and how to be resourceful and appreciate the simple gifts that you are blessed with. When she was in high school, her parents bought a general store and it was there that she met her future husband, Ron, in 1961, when she was home from nursing school for the weekend. One week after Ron graduated from McMaster University, they married on May 18, 1963 and moved to Princeton, NJ, where Ron pursued his graduate studies at Princeton University.

Together, as a young married couple, Jean and Ron left everything that they knew — their families and their country — to build a new life, filled with hope, promise, adventure, and opportunity in the United States. While Ron’s career moved them all over the country, Jean built a home and raised their two children while working as an X-ray technician and then, later, as a mammographer.

Jean loved traveling and enjoyed sharing her love of creative projects with others, often hosting dinner parties, cooking, baking, sewing, quilting, and making stained glass. Jean was very giving and thoughtful and made everyone feel truly special — sending handwritten letters or homemade cards, favorite recipes, articles, and homemade gifts with special notes that continue to be treasured. She embodied kindness, compassion, creativity, and humor.

Jean is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Cynthia and Greg Premru of Groton, MA, and her son Ron Davidson, Jr. of Princeton, NJ; her brother and sister-in-law Jack and Margaret Farncombe of Kemptville, Ontario; and her sister Linda Beckham of Brantford, Ontario. She is also survived by four grandchildren – William and Leo Premru of Groton, MA; and Crosby and Cayley Davidson, of Princeton, NJ. Her extended family includes several nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and grand-nephews in Ontario, Canada.

We are grateful for the wonderful staff who provided caring assistance to Jean over her last four years and care and comfort in her final days.

A celebration of Jean’s life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial gift to the Alzheimers Research Program at McLean Hospital. Checks should be made payable to “McLean Hospital” and sent to 115 Mill Street, Mail Stop 126, Belmont, MA 02478. Online gifts can be made at https://www.mcleanhospital.org/give. Please note “in memory of Jean Davidson” in the memo field.

Arrangements are under the care of Badger Funeral Home. To share a memory or offer condolences, please visit www. badgerfuneral.com.

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Nigel Paul Longshaw

Paul Longshaw, 66, died unexpectedly in his sleep early in the morning of April 15, 2020. He had recently been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. Born in Chipping Norton, England, Paul visited Princeton in 1985 on a lark and instantly made it his permanent home with his wife, Cille (née Koch). Longstanding Princeton residents and lifelong travelers, their itineraries invariably traced the paths of revered architects.

A member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Paul forged a 40-year career as an architect first in the U.K. and subsequently in the U.S., working with international teams to produce award-winning, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities for leading pharmaceutical firms in the U.S. and abroad. As a senior project architect and technical lead at Jacobs Engineering in Conshohocken, PA, for nearly 25 years, Paul took particular joy in mentoring young architects, instilling the highest standards for design and construction practices.

Paul’s passion for distinctive design permeated every aspect of his life.Taking the lead with his Canon camera around his neck, he eagerly enticed friends and family to accompany him on walkabouts to marvel at exemplary buildings across the Princeton campus; admire glassy new structures shoulder-to-shoulder with neo-classical landmarks in Manhattan; or delight in the surprise of each new summer pavilion at the Serpentine in London.

Beyond his keen eye, Paul will also be remembered for his admittedly eclectic musical preferences ranging from Frank Zappa to Billy Strayhorn to Jenny Lewis, his talents as a photographer, his generosity, and his predilection for a proper English pint. In addition to his wife of 30 years, he leaves behind cherished extended family in the U.K. and U.S. and an exceptional constellation of lifelong friendships far and wide.

His ashes will be interred in the Pardee Memorial Garden at Princeton Cemetery. A memorial celebration will be planned at a later date.

If you wish to make a contribution in Paul’s memory, the British Heart Foundation, Philabundance, Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK), and Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad are among the many organizations he supported.