Robert “Bob” Bergman

Robert “Bob” Bergman passed away peacefully in Boynton Beach, Florida, on November 20, 2020 after succumbing to heart failure. He had Covid-19. His beloved wife of 15 years, Beatrice “Bebe,” was by his side. 

Bob was born in New York City on September 2, 1931 to Sadie “Sue” (nee Lebeck) and Emanuel “Ed” Bergman. He attended Stevens Hoboken Academy, received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from New York University, and earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from The City University of New York, School of Technology, in 1962. He also received numerous certificates and awards during his long and distinguished engineering career. He began at E-Systems and continued at RCA, General Electric, Princeton University Plasma Physics Laboratory, and SAIC. He finished his illustrious career at AT&T Bell Labs, from which he retired in 1995. He enjoyed working and would often tell people that, given his work on satellites, his “fingerprints were on the moon.”  

Bob grew up in the city but loved the country. Perhaps that love sprung from his time spent in summer camp, where he made many lifelong friends. He and his first wife, Wilhelmina Wiland (nee Van Dijk), whom he met on the French Riviera during a post-college vacation, moved to Princeton, New Jersey (“the country!”), in 1965. Bob immersed himself in Princeton life, attended weekly lectures at the University, hosted yearly ski club parties and became an avid tennis player. His professorial look garnered him a job as an extra in the motion picture I.Q., the 1994 comedy about Albert Einstein that was filmed in Princeton.

In 2002, Bob looked up his old college girlfriend, whom he had never stopped thinking about. Her name was Beatrice. He found her again by sending her alma mater a request that his email address be sent to her. She emailed him shortly thereafter, and Bob learned that Bebe was widowed and living in Florida just minutes away from his twin sister, Joan. On his next trip to Florida to visit his sister, Bob and Bebe met to get reacquainted. The rest, as they say, is history. Bob moved to Florida the following year and they were married in 2005.

Bob traveled widely and had seemingly visited just about everywhere either for leisure or business travel. He recalled traveling to Cuba before the revolution and especially loved his trips to Russia, which was exotic for him after reading so many spy novels. He also loved his trip to Israel, which he visited with Bebe and some of their close friends. Later in life, he became enamored with cruises; he and Bebe were always either on a cruise or planning the next one.  

Bob was a devoted and loving father to his two sons, Jeffrey and Eric, in whom he instilled the love and wonder of science, the beauty of lifelong learning, and the importance of family. They remember his love of nature and of the day as children that he helped them plant a shoebox of saplings all over their property. Over the years, Bob tended his boys and their trees to be tall and strong. Bob effusively welcomed Jeff’s and Eric’s wives (Nicole and Andrea) into the family and treated them both like they were his own daughters. He was a loving, proud, and generous Papa to grandchildren Nina, Jensen, and Blake Bergman, Erika LaCaruba (Thomas), Zachary Bass, Benjamin Bass, and great-granddaughter Harper LaCaruba. He is also survived by his stepdaughter, Sheryl Zolotorofe.

His life was well-lived, and he left his fingerprints not just on the moon, but on the hearts of his family and friends. He will be missed.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his honor to the 101 Fund (https://fund101.org/donate) which supports need-based scholarships for Princeton High School graduates.

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Stowe Holding Tattersall

Stowe Holding Tattersall of Vero Beach, FL, Edgartown, MA, and Lawrenceville, NJ, died Wednesday, November 25 after a three-and-a-half-year battle with pulmonary fibrosis.

Husband of Peg and father of Edie Irvine (Ross). Also survived by his sister Martha Giancola (Paul), nephew David Giancola (Samantha), and Westie, Kiefer. Predeceased by his parents, Martha Holding and Samuel L. Tattersall, Jr., and brother Sandy.

Born and raised in Princeton, Stowe was an alumnus of Princeton Country Day School, The Hotchkiss School (Class of 1968), and Brown University (Class of 1972). Longtime board member of Trinity Counseling Service and Historic Morven. Lifetime parishioner of Trinity Church and St. Andrew’s Church, Edgartown. Member of John’s Island Club (Vero Beach), Chappaquiddick Beach Club, Edgartown Reading Room, Edgartown Yacht Club, The Bedens Brook Club, and The Nassau Club.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate contributions in Stowe’s memory to the Vineyard Trust (Edgartown, MA) or the animal shelter of your choice.