Casey Charles Huckel

Casey Charles Huckel of Princeton, New Jersey, passed away on January 16, 2023. He was only 35 years old, but the years he spent with us were full of life and love.

Casey was an intelligent, caring, and inquisitive man who tragically suffered from mental illness. Despite his personal struggles, he never failed to laugh at a funny joke and will be remembered by all who knew him for his contagious belly laugh. A graduate of Princeton High School and Tulane University, he was an avid reader, gifted writer, and talented athlete.

Casey fought his mental health challenges courageously, always seeking to find passion for life. He will be deeply missed by his family and friends, who hope that he finds peace, love, and compassion in the afterlife.

He is survived by his devoted parents, Kirk Huckel and Lisa Desiato: his step-mother Colleen Exter; and his siblings: Kiersten Huckel, her husband Charles Sipio, and their son Felix; Emily Lampshire and her husband Stephen; Cody Exter and his wife Caroline.

In honor of Casey’s memory, his family is asking that donations be made to the National Alliance of Mental Illness.

A funeral service was held at The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville on Tuesday, January 24, 2023. Arrangements are by the Wilson-Apple Funeral Home, Pennington. Condolences are welcome at wilsonapple.com.

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Yetta Goldstein Ziolkowski

Yetta Goldstein Ziolkowski, beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away on the morning of January 10 in Kirkland Village, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Her husband of almost 70 years, Theodore Ziolkowski, born 1932, had died there on December 5, 2020. In their life together they had previously resided in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Innsbruck, Austria; New Haven, Connecticut; Cologne, Germany; Hastings, New York; and, for the longest stretch, Princeton, New Jersey, from 1964 to 2019. For 15 years, toward the end of their lives, they made extended annual visits to Berlin, Germany.

Yetta Ziolkowski was born on August 5, 1929, in Cedartown, Georgia. She was the oldest of four children of Margaret Goldstein, née Embry, originally from Anniston, Alabama, and Samuel Jacob Goldstein, né Olewnik, who had immigrated to the United States in 1903 from Ciechanów, in the Russian Partition of what is now Poland. She took great pride in being the daughter and sister of veterans: her father had served in France in World War I as a volunteer in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and her brother, Jimmy Alden Goldstein, was a U.S. soldier stationed in South Korea in the late 1950s.

A conventional resume would record that Yetta Ziolkowski was high-school valedictorian in Lincoln, Alabama, an undergraduate at what is now the University of Montevallo, Alabama, and a graduate student who earned an M.A. in comparative literature at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Later she taught Latin at a girls’ school in New Haven, Connecticut. In midlife — the long Princeton phase — she made many meaningful contributions as a volunteer at Princeton Hospital, docent at the Princeton University Art Museum, and coordinator of host families for Saudi Arabian engineering students studying English on the University campus in the summers of 1976 and 1977. She worked alongside her husband during his 13 years of service as Dean of the Princeton University Graduate School.

Yetta also did numerous co-translations with her husband, notably of Herman Meyer’s The Poetics of Quotation in the European Novel, and took photographs to accompany her husband’s works. In her sixties and seventies, she increased her community work, especially with the local welfare board, and applied to her own garden her sophisticated landscape and horticultural knowledge, gained in part from promoting the restoration of the garden designed by Beatrix Farrand at the Graduate School.

Though accurate, the accounting given fails to capture much about Yetta Ziolkowski that was most extraordinary. To the end, she retained an enduring imprint from her upbringing in rural Alabama during the Great Depression and World War II. Her father and mother brought together lasting roots, his in the Jewish communities in Ciechanów and Mława in what is now north-central Poland, and hers in and around a place called Embry’s Bend, alongside the Coosa River, outside the small town of Lincoln, Alabama.

To the last, she also commanded a formidable historical knowledge, an awe-inspiring memory of people — their faces, names, families, stories, and more — and places, and a deep and broad erudition in literature, art, history, and religion. To these she added perspectives gained from travels with her husband, not only across North America, but also throughout Europe, as well as to South Korea and Japan.

Yetta retained close ties both with those she had known from childhood and with those she had befriended in adulthood. Her husband may have published numerous books of literary and cultural history, but he and everyone else in the family recognized without hesitation that Yetta had read seemingly everything. That reading was not confined to English, since she shared with her spouse a profound commitment to German and Latin. Family members also knew how her nature would lead her from casual encounters into extended conversations that would elicit exceptional recollections and connections. Long before AI, she could transcend almost instantaneously the six degrees of separation.

From the very start, the relationship between Yetta and Theodore Ziolkowski — a fellow Alabamian, from Montevallo — was one of unbounded and unfailing love. Their marriage on March 26, 1951, proved magically successful, uniting two people whose fathers immigrated to the United States from utterly different backgrounds in eastern Europe. As a matriarch and person, Yetta was formidable in shaping and guiding those around her. She conveyed her strong insights, convictions, visions, and ambitions to everyone, not the least her three children and seven grandchildren. Her descendants will hear for generations to come about her mind, character, and, above all, love. She will never be forgotten.

She is survived by her younger sister Sarah Avisar Lichtman, of Bnei Dror, Israel; younger brother Jimmy Alden Goldstein, of Lincoln, Alabama; and youngest sister Barbara Bonfield, of Birmingham, Alabama; and daughter Margaret Ziolkowski and her husband Robert Thurston, of Oxford, Ohio; elder son Jan and his wife Elizabeth Ziolkowski, of Newton, Massachusetts; and younger son Eric Ziolkowski and his wife Lee Upton, of Easton, Pennsylvania. Also grieving her loss are a grandson and six granddaughters, along with two great-granddaughters and three great-grandsons.

In lieu of flowers, those who wish to memorialize Yetta Ziolkowski may make a donation in her name to either the World Jewish Congress (support.worldjewishcongress.org) or the Anti-Defamation League (adl.org).

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Jane T. Fenninger

Jane T. Fenninger, age 101, of Evanston, IL. Beloved wife of the late Leonard D. Fenninger, M.D.; loving mother of Anne Fenninger and the late David Fenninger. She is survived by her sister Elisabeth Peterson. Her sister Joan Purnell and brother H. Barton Thomas predeceased her. She has four grandchildren, Kathy O’Donnell, Randy Wolfe, Heather Akers, and Brandon Fenninger; and eight great-grandchildren, Teagan and Madison O’Donnell; Grace, Pearson and Emma Wolfe; and Harper, Jack, and Charlie Fenninger. She was also blessed with many nieces and nephews.

Jane was born September 23, 1921, in Pittsburgh, PA, to Katharine Jane Black Thomas and Harrison McClure Thomas. She grew up in Princeton, NJ, graduating from Miss Fine’s School in 1938. Jane went on to study at Vassar College, graduating in 1942 and received a M.A. from American University in 1968. She was a reading specialist at Sidwell Friends School, Washington, D.C. and North Shore Country Day School, Winnetka, IL.

While family came first, Jane loved literature, art, music, travel, sailing, and her community.

She was an active volunteer well into her nineties at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Women’s Board at the Presbyterian Homes, Evanston, IL, the Glencoe, IL Garden Club, and Glencoe Union Church.

A celebration of Jane’s life will be held April 23, 2023, in Princeton, NJ. Interment will be next to her husband, Leonard, at Glencoe Union Church at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her memory to Glencoe Union Church, the Art Institute of Chicago or the Geneva Foundation of the Presbyterian Homes.

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Giseltraud I. Welburn

Giseltraud I. Welburn (Gigi), born March 10, 1941, passed away on January 10, 2023, dying of glioblastoma, a deadly brain cancer that lasted 18 months. She had two younger brothers that predeceased her.

She was defined by one characteristic that almost everyone noticed about her: namely, she was the kindest and most generous of people who always put other people first before herself.

She was born in Osnabruck, Germany, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1967 after living in Spain for five years. While there she worked briefly as an au pair for a Spanish family, teaching their five children to learn German, but soon switched to attempting a career in acting. She did play an extra in two movies including Circus World and The Fall of the Roman Empire, and developed a close friendship with John Wayne and Rita Hayworth while there. However, she soon decided that acting was not for her and became a bookkeeper, something she was trained to do in a vocational school in Germany.

In the U.S. she trained to become an accountant and was working for KPMG when she met her husband, Ronald L. Welburn, and they married in Stillwater, N.J., on September 4, 1982. Gigi had stopped both smoking and drinking in her mid-thirties prior to her marriage, and became an active member of the AA organization that was to become a major part of her life. She is credited by the AA membership with saving many lives as she went to daily meetings and inspired others to stop drinking. Her recreation included 23 years as a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, and running three properties in Mount Pleasant, S.C.; Skillman, N.J.; and a weekend house in Stillwater, N.J. Living near Princeton, Gigi had many friends in the Present Day Club.

Every year Gigi and Ron made a point of visiting exotic vacation spots around the world including their best and last vacation in 2019 when they went on the Sea Cloud on a “castle and garden trip” visiting Northern Ireland and Scotland. The onset of glioblastoma changed Gigi’s life for the worse. However, her spirits were high until the end as she believed in her AA work as well as “a perfect marriage of 40 years.”

The Welburn family has no children nor relatives living in the U.S. Gigi is survived by her husband and a grand-niece Emma Leiber and her parents, Petra and Carsten Leiber, who live in Bramsche, Germany.

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In Memory of

Dr. Michael R. Cortese

Michael R. Cortese, D.M.D., 69, of Princeton passed away on Saturday, January 21, 2023 at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton.  Michael was born in South Plainfield, NJ, and spent his childhood there. As a young man, Michael reached the prestigious level of Eagle Scout and lettered in four sports every year at St. Joseph’s High School in Metuchen, NJ. He enjoyed spending his summers at the Jersey Shore swimming and body surfing, and lifeguarded in Plainfield. 

Michael was a proud graduate of the University of Notre Dame. While in college, he met his wife Angela, and they were married in 1976. They lived in Ridgefield Park, NJ, while Michael pursued his Doctor of Medical Dentistry from the Fairleigh Dickinson University School of Dentistry, and their son was born in 1980. After he earned his doctorate, the family moved to Texas, where their daughter was born in 1983. During their time in Texas, Dr. Cortese received his Certificate in Maxillofacial Prosthetics and Dental Oncology from the University of Texas Health Science Center M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute. The family moved to Princeton in 1987 where he established the facility which would later become Princeton Prosthodontics.

Dr. Cortese was a member of the prestigious American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics. He is one of only 360 accredited Maxillofacial Prosthodontists worldwide. He was a member of the American College of Prosthodontics, American Dental Association, Society of Clinical Oncology, New Jersey Dental Association, Osseointegration Society, and Academy of Osseointegration. 

Dr. Cortese was a skilled dental artist creating facial and oral prosthetics for patients to be able to function after cancer surgery. He spent over 30 years healing and treating the Princeton community and beyond. He treated all of his patients like family. His staff never left him and Melissa Cowman, his Dental Assistant and Practice Administrator, worked with him side-by-side for over 35 years. Michael was one of the very first dentists in the U.S. certified by Apollo Health collaborating with physicians to screen, prevent, and reverse Alzheimer’s and dementia.

He loved all things Notre Dame, the Jersey Shore, cooking for his family, ’60s music, and a good cigar.  He proudly coached his daughter’s soccer team and other youth sports in the community. He will be missed by his loving family and many friends.

He is survived by his loving wife Angela (Morrison) Cortese; son Michael Cortese; daughter Lauren Cortese; his mother Josephine Cortese; three sisters and three brothers-in-law Terry and Tony Mangion, Joanne and Martin Smith, Pati and Jim Brenn; a brother and sister-in-law Paul and Nancy Cortese; and many nieces and nephews. Michael is predeceased by his father Michael A. Cortese.

A Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, January 26, 2023 at Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08542. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Friday, January 27, 2023 at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, 216 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08542.

Arrangements are by Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.

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Sarah Lambert Morgan
1933-2023
Sarah Lambert Morgan of New York City and Oyster Bay passed away at age 89 on January 12, 2023. Beloved for her wit, compassion, and dedication to her family. Sarah volunteered as a book binder at the Mertz Library of The New York Botanical Garden and served on the boards of the Havens Relief Fund Society, the Grosvenor Neighborhood House, and the New York Institute for Special Education.

A multigenerational New Yorker, she was born in Manhattan on August 17, 1933 to Samuel W. Lambert Jr. and Mary H. Lambert. An avid fly fisher, Sarah was the first female member of the Megantic Fish and Game Club, a member of the Women’s Fly Fishers, the Colony Club, and the Colonial Dames.

She is sorely missed by her husband Charles F. Morgan; her brother Samuel W. Lambert III; her three children Charles Morgan Jr., Maria Grill, and Samuel Morgan; daughters-in-law Kace and Shoki; her son-in-law Chris; and her seven grandchildren.
Memorial Service to be held at the Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York, N.Y., on January 27 at 11 a.m.

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Beverly Wolfe Glassman

Beverly Wolfe Glassman, born July 15, 1929 in Baltimore, MD, died on September 11, 2022 in Princeton, NJ.

Beverly grew up in Baltimore where she attended Forest Park High School, then Towson State College graduating with a teaching degree. She married Irvin Glassman in 1954 and moved to New Jersey when her husband accepted a position at Princeton University. Beverly taught elementary school in Monroe and Dutch Neck for several years. Beverly was known to be a wonderful hostess and cook and frequently entertained Irv’s graduate students in their home. She also was active in The Jewish Center of Princeton and Hadassah. Beverly loved to travel, spending two years of Irv’s sabbatical in Italy, one with her young family.

She is survived by her three daughters, Shari (Warren Powell) of Princeton, NJ; Diane (Ed Gienger) of Ocean View, DE; and Barbara Glassman (Arthur Rubin) of Millbrook and New York, NY; six grandchildren, Eddie (Nicole Kennedy) Gienger, Megan (Paul Boyd), Elyse Powell, Dan Powell, Maya Rubin, and Noah Rubin; and one great-granddaughter, Naomi Kennedy Gienger.

Funeral Service and Burial were held on September 13, 2022 in New Jersey. Memorial contributions can be made to Hadassah.org or your charity of choice.

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Albert Bortnick

After a long and healthy life, and a very short illness, Albert Bortnick, 97, of Princeton passed away Friday, January 20, 2023 peacefully at home in Princeton.

Albert was the second son born to Isidore and Lena Bortnick, he was born in Philadelphia, PA, and raised in Jersey City. He and his brothers shared friends, laughs, food, and enjoyed each other’s families. He served as a radar technician in World War II, and a month before he was scheduled to be sent overseas, the war ended. He came back home and enrolled in New York University, where he became Phi Beta Kappa (he would cringe knowing this was included because his humility trumped his achievement), edited the newspaper, and met the love of his life, Judith Joyce Karmiller.

Albert and Judith (Judy and Al as they were known) were married on March 25, 1951 and enjoyed a warm, loving, and fun 70 years together. Albert was an English teacher in the New York City School Board and then became a Vice Principal in various high schools in the Bronx, NY.

Albert and Judith raised their two children in Rockland County, NY, and lived there until relocating to the Princeton area 15 years ago. After retiring from the NYC School Board, Albert and Judith both taught at Montclair State University, and spent their time traveling, visiting children and grandchildren in Germany and Canada. They loved life together. They had many wonderful times with friends, family, and long dinners discussing most recently read novels and seen movies, and were open and curious to whatever their grandchildren were interested in.

Albert was predeceased by his wife Judith Joyce Bortnick, parents Isidore and Lena (Schwartz) Bortnick, brothers Joseph (Joe) Bortnick and Jacob (Jack) Bortnick, and sisters-in-law Marilyn Bortnick and Cecilia Bortnick. May their memories be a blessing.

He is survived by son Evan Bortnick, daughter Bonnie Hillman, son-in-law Hart Hillman, daughter-in-law Anna Bortnick, granddaughter Alexandra (Sasha) Bortnick, grandson Sam Hillman, and grandson Jake Hillman. He will be sorely missed for many reasons, but particularly when any of his family and friends need a precise definition for a word.

The family extends a deep thank you to Dr. David Barile, Dr. Ramy Sedholm, and the entire staff of Greenwood Hospice Care, including the two Kellys and Chaplain Byron.

A Memorial Visitation will be held from 10-11 a.m. on Monday, January 30, 2023 at Star of David Memorial Chapel of Princeton, 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08542. A Funeral Service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, January 30, 2023 at Star of David Memorial Chapel of Princeton, 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08542. Burial will take place with immediate family only in Washington Crossing National Cemetery.

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Eugene Guerino Freda

Eugene Guerino Freda, 94, of Ewing, NJ, passed away on Friday, January 20, 2023 at Care One at Hamilton, NJ. Born in Princeton, NJ, he was raised in the Jugtown section.

Eugene attended the Princeton schools and completed his freshman year at Princeton High School before transferring to The Hun School of Princeton, graduating in 1948. After graduating, he created the Hun Alumni Association on which he served in various capacities for several years. In 1952, he graduated from the University of Miami, Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.

He retired as a Major from the Active Air Force Reserve in 1975 after honorably serving on active duty from 1952 to 1956, most notably in France and Germany with the Western European NATO forces.

Upon returning from his tour of duty, his career led him to becoming District Service Manager for Carrier Air Conditioning Company then President of Eastern Air Balance Company. In 1969, Eugene received his Professional Engineers License. Along with his wife, Ellie, who had excellent business knowledge, they opened the Eugene G. Freda Company offering field engineering consulting services until they retired in 1992.

He was a member of the American Legion.

Eugene was predeceased by his wife, of 38 years, Eleanor “Ellie” Doten Freda, in 1998; parents, Guerino and Filomena (Quaresima) Freda; two sisters, Gloria Ann Chambers and Katherine Judith Freda; and brother-in-law, William Chambers.

Surviving are his son and daughter-in-law, Russell and Mary Jo Freda, and four grandsons: Anthony and his wife Diana, Nicholas and his fiancé Miranda, Zachary and Jeremy Freda; and two nieces, Kay (Joe) Torpey and Cynthia Chambers.

Private cremation and burial services are under the direction of Kimble Funeral Home, Princeton, NJ.

Memorial contributions to Ewing Covenant Presbyterian Church, 100 Scotch Road, Ewing, NJ 08628 are appreciated.

To extend condolences and share remembrances, please visit TheKimble
FuneralHome.com.