Leon Mendel (“Lee”) Rosenson

Leon Mendel (“Lee”) Rosenson, 90, of Princeton, N.J., passed away in his home on December 13, 2022. 

Lee was a loving family man who reveled in large Thanksgiving gatherings and an annual family beach week. He was an avid birder and hiker who once trekked to Basecamp of Mount Everest in Nepal. He was a true activist who participated in protest marches for peace and civil rights. He testified at countless public hearings, where his reasoned and respectful advocacy helped win important battles for the New Jersey Pinelands and other environmental and social causes.

Lee was born in Oakland, California on May 20, 1932 to Miriam and Alexander Rosenson. The family moved to Washington, D.C., in 1944 so Lee’s father could pursue his career at the State Department.

After two years at George Washington University Lee transferred to Duke University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics. He served three years as an officer in the U.S. Navy after which he returned to school at Harvard where he received a Master’s in Business Administration. He took a position with the Southern Pacific Railroad Company in San Francisco. At age 34 Lee decided to study biology, a long-held dream. He entered the University of California at Berkeley for a second undergraduate degree for which he was awarded a Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his Ph.D. in biology at Duke University, and then had a NATO Post-doctoral Fellowship in biology at Sussex University, England. Beginning in 1972 Lee was an Assistant Professor of biology at Stockton University in New Jersey. He left teaching in 1976 in order to become a member of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School’s Senior Administrative Group. After more than a decade there, he became Vice-President for Administration at the Liposome Company in Plainsboro, New Jersey, from which he retired in 1994.

Lee expressed his dedication to human rights and the environment by his active membership in the ACLU and on the Boards of local and statewide environmental organizations, including the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, the Nature Conservancy of New Jersey, the New Jersey Audubon Society, the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, and the Atlantic Audubon Society (of which he was a Founding Director). Lee also served his community as a member of the Princeton Board of Health and the Princeton Hospital Biomedical Ethics Committee. 

Lee is survived by his wife of 49 years, Suzanne Levin; his children from a previous marriage, Sarah Rosenson (Carleton Montgomery), Claire Rosenson (Tim Johnston); his step-sons Michael Levin (Marjorie Backup), Peter Levin (Barbara Parks); his son-in-law Edward Overton; nine grandchildren, Elise Levin (Michael Salerno), Jacob Montgomery (Iracema Drew), Esther Montgomery (Nick Citrone), Leslie Rose Levin, Sean Levin, Hannah Johnston, Naomi Johnston, Marina Overton, Eve Overton, great-granddaughter Addie Salerno; nieces Alison Dow and Katherine Dennin. Lee was pre-deceased by his sister Vivian Brownstein and daughter Abigail Rosenson Overton.

A memorial gathering to celebrate Lee’s life will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the American Civil Liberties Union (aclu.org) or the Pinelands Preservation Alliance (pinelandsalliance.org).

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Kevin Tylus

Kevin Tylus, 67, of Skillman died Friday, December 16, 2022 at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center of Plainsboro. Born in Princeton, he was a lifelong resident. Kevin was the CEO of WSFS Bank. He was a member of the Springdale Country Club, Nassau Club, Union League of Philadelphia, Penn Medicine of Princeton Foundation, Board of Trustees of the Hun School and a Board Member of the Gettysburg College.

Son of the late Frank A. and Catherine (Diaforli) Tylus, brother-in-law of the late Jay Graff, he is survived by his wife of 43 years Virginia (Broderick) Tylus; a son and daughter-in-law Kevin B. and Morgan Tylus; three daughters and three sons-in-law Megan and Ian McNally, Lindsey Tylus and Jon Lively, Kelsey G. and Michael Testa; two sisters and a brother-in-law Karen E. Graff, Jennifer and Tim Metzger; and 12 grandchildren Addison, Tyler, Finn, Caroline, Carter, Emerson, Charlotte, Kevin, Laine, Broderick, Ella, and Kate.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 at St. Paul’s Church 216 Nassau Street, Princeton. Burial will follow in the Princeton Cemetery.

Memorial Contributions may be to: Cycle for Survival or The Hun School of Princeton in Memory of Kevin Tylus.

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Charles Mark Jones

Charles Mark Jones passed away on December 15, 2022, surrounded by his family after living for four years with a malignant brain tumor.

He was born on July 6, 1966 at St. Alban’s Naval Hospital in Queens and spent his earliest years on the McChord, McClellan, and McCoy Air Force bases. He went to primary and secondary school in Longwood, Florida, and showed an early interest and facility with numbers. He was a product of, and a strong supporter of, public education. Charles had a lifelong love of music. He sang with the Orlando Boy Choir, and at his church, where he also played the trombone. He loved to perform and played Oliver in Oliver in grade school, and Pippin in Pippin in college.

Charles earned his S.B. in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he embraced all aspects of college life. He played virtually every intramural sport and filled in on the varsity sailing team. He sang and played bass trombone in multiple performing ensembles, including the MIT/Wellesley Symphony where he met Daphne, his fiercely beloved wife of 33 years. A semester at the London School of Economics led to a lifelong love of travel, Premier League soccer, and yes, economics.

After college, Charles worked as an analyst for Merrill Lynch in Investment Banking, where he quickly added value building and explaining derivative valuation models. He then earned his Ph.D. in Finance at the University of Michigan School of Business Administration. He was an assistant professor of economics at Princeton University from 1994 to 1997. In Princeton, he and Daphne quickly set down roots and started their family. He was an adored friend and favorite dinner partner among their village of incredible friends. At Trinity Church, he sang in the choir (and from the pews with his family) and served on the Finance Committee. He was also on the board of directors of the Princeton Federal Credit Union.

Charles joined the faculty of Columbia Business School in 1997 and was named the Robert W. Lear Professor of Finance and Economics in 2008. His empirical research has helped answer some of the biggest questions in finance, including how stock markets incorporate information and why investors trade. He is best known for his research on short sales, algorithmic and high-frequency trading, market liquidity, and most recently, individual investor trading. His articles have enhanced the understanding of market microstructure, asset pricing, and behavioral finance. He received dozens of awards, fellowships, and research grants recognizing his work.

Charles’s research on short sellers and high-frequency traders changed the way the profession thinks about these traders. His papers show that short sellers play an important informational role in markets, especially during economic and financial crises such as those in 1929 and 2008, despite facing considerable regulatory obstacles and borrowing costs. His studies of high-frequency algorithmic trading show that these traders do not necessarily reduce market liquidity, as was commonly assumed, and can actually improve trading opportunities for others.

His recent article, “Tracking Retail Investor Activity” (2021) in the Journal of Finance with Ekkehart Boehmer, Xiaoyan Zhang, and Xinran Zhang, develops a novel method for identifying trades by nonprofessionals from transaction data, enabling further study of how individual traders behave and affect markets. He continued to be an avid researcher, working with co-authors on his five active papers into the fall of 2022.

Charles was an exceptional teacher and had a remarkable ability to clearly explain complex financial concepts. His Debt Market class was a popular elective, and he was recognized with multiple teaching prizes. Charles continuously held significant leadership positions at Columbia Business School for more than a decade, including most recently as Senior Vice Dean. He was proud of his wider public contributions; he served as a member of the economic advisory committee of FINRA and as head of the economic advisory board at Nasdaq, and was a visiting economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the New York Stock Exchange. He advised the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Department of Justice on matters related to financial markets.

As much as Charles loved and valued his work, he considered the tight-knit family he and Daphne created his greatest accomplishment and source of joy. Vacations and weekends were called “Camp Charles,” aptly named after the hikes and other adventures on which he would lead Daphne and their three children: Caroline, Andrew, and Elizabeth. He relished time with extended family on his parents’ screened porch in Florida, or sailing on the Straits of Mackinac, and considered the highlight of most any day to be talking and laughing around the dinner table. He loved attending any live performance: orchestral music, theatre, jazz, opera, and ballet, but most especially his children’s many performances.

His profound love of life, and even stronger love of the people around him, were infectious. His smile lit up every room he entered, and his laugh spread warmth and joy. His radiant vivacity was anchored by substance and calm. He was adored by family, friends, colleagues, and students, and was charming, genuine, funny, loving, and deeply moral. He always saw the best in people, even while holding them to high standards. 

He is survived by his wife Daphne; children Elizabeth, Andrew, and Caroline (and her partner Fergus); his mother Alice; his brothers Chris (Elaine), David (Edurne); parents-in-law David and Anabel; brother-in-law Anthony (Laura); a niece and three nephews; and was predeceased by his father Lawrence.

Charles and his family are grateful for the incredible care he received at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and from the Greenwood Hospice team, and for all the love and support from friends and family near and far over the past four years.

We are grateful that his smile and memory continue to fill us with peace and love. A memorial service is planned for 2 p.m. on January 2 at Trinity Church Princeton.