Marsha Wolf Beidler

Marsha Wolf Beidler of Princeton died unexpectedly on November 6 in Chapel Hill, NC. She was 75. Prior to moving to Chapel Hill for the winters in 2022, Marsha lived in Princeton for over 45 years, and served as an estate planner to many elite clients in the Princeton area.

She was born on Leap Day in Bridgeton, NJ, in 1948 and enjoyed celebrating two birthdays on years without February 29ths. She was the second daughter of the late Esther Wolf and Benjamin Wolf and grew up in Southern New Jersey and Hollywood, Florida. Since Esther died of cancer when Marsha was 11, and Benjamin remarried shortly thereafter, she very much considered Margaret “Manci” Wolf a second mother.

Those who knew her well knew she could talk to anyone, and her vibrancy lit up a room whether she was talking about the law, politics, her children, or the latest history book she devoured. Marsha loved people, and they loved her. She was often described as the “energizer bunny,” able to stay active and keep hours that made others tired. She often went to bed at 4 a.m. and awoke at 11 a.m. She loved spending time with her family and extended family, playing bridge, learning everything she could about World War II, traveling, and shopping.

Marsha was a devoted wife to her husband, John Beidler, whom she married in 1974 and who also recently passed away in late August. Many who loved her think she died of a broken heart since John pre-deceased her by only two months, and she had spent many hours every day for 10 weeks sitting by his bedside in the ICU this past summer.

Marsha was quick as a whip and skipped kindergarten. She attended South Broward High School and earned her BA from Dickinson College in 1969. She loved Dickinson College and encouraged many students to attend. She then went on to law school at Rutgers University School of Law where she graduated in 1972 and received the American Jurisprudence Award in Estates and Trusts. It was at Rutgers that she met John Beidler, her husband of 49 years.

After earning her JD, she worked at the IRS in the Estate and Gift Tax section from 1972-1976 but then went on to get additional training in tax law and received her Master’s of Law in Taxation from New York University School of Law in 1979. After that, she was in private practice, concentrating her practice on estate tax planning and probate law, where she prepared hundreds of trusts and wills yearly, mostly at Drinker Biddle & Reath (DBR), now Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP of Princeton.

Marsha loved the law and particularly estate planning. Her understanding and love of people as well as the intricacies of tax law helped her to be a very sought-after estates attorney with academics, executives, authors, and even Nobel Prize winners. Over her lifetime, she was licensed to practice law in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Florida. She was a Fellow in the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel and served on the board of directors of many nonprofit organizations and had leadership roles in the Mercer County Estate Planning Council. She lectured on estate planning for numerous organizations, including Princeton and Rutgers Universities and numerous national corporations. She was awarded the “Super Lawyers” distinction for 2005-2014

Marsha and John adopted two children, Dora and Evan Beidler, from Bulgaria in 1997 when they were ages 5 and 3. The children, now adults, live in Kingston and work in Princeton. She loved her children deeply and tirelessly supported their growth, education, and lives. She was also a devoted aunt to her nieces and nephews and had many friends.   

She is survived by her older sister Andrea Wolf Miller, with whom she was tremendously close, and brother-in-law Norman Miller; her step-sister Agnes Ross; her step-brother George Chillag; her sister- and brother-in-law, Mary and Nils Hovik; her children, Dora Beidler and Evan Beidler; and her nieces, Eliana Perrin (married to Andrew), Suzanne Colman (Steve), Dana Gaines (Ric), Amy Chillag (Wayne), and nephew, Thomas Ross (Laura). She is survived by many great-nieces, great-nephews, cousins, and friends. She was also particularly close to her great-nephews Jonah and Daniel Perrin, and cousin Kathi Wolfe.

Marsha’s ashes will be buried in Princeton Cemetery next to her beloved husband. Gatherings of friends and family will take place in Princeton and in Chapel Hill in the coming months. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in the name of Marsha Beidler to “HomeFrontNJ: Helping Families Break the Cycle of Poverty” or “Learning Ally: Audiobooks for Dyslexia and Learning Disabilities.”

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Claire R. Jacobus

Claire Robinson Jacobus of Princeton, NJ, passed away following a brief hospital stay on November 28, 2023 at the age of 89. She is survived by her husband of 67 years, David P. Jacobus, MD; three daughters, Marget of Westfield, MA, Claire (Hughie) and her husband Andrew Hildick-Smith of Winchester, MA, and Laura of Princeton, NJ; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Claire was predeceased by her sons, David, who died in infancy, William, and John.

Claire was born in Centerville, Iowa, and named Claire Lee Robinson, but was called Kiki by her friends and family until she graduated from college.  She was the only child of William Henry Robinson and Ruby Herschberg Robinson. She and her parents moved frequently but she was happy to have all four years in Connecticut at Fairfield High. She then attended Bryn Mawr College, Class of 1954, majoring in English. Claire said of her time at Bryn Mawr: “I very much wanted to go there, and I loved it. Everyone read all the time! It was a deeply intellectual life. You could learn as much as you wanted to. What I learned, of course, was how to ask the questions and find the answers. The ‘how,’ not the ‘why,’ which is deeply important, and I think is really the value of a liberal arts education.”

While at Bryn Mawr, she made many good friends, who remained an important part of her life. When she was a junior, she went out on a blind date and met David Jacobus, who was a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania. Following graduation from college, Claire worked at The New Yorker magazine for two years under Katharine White. In 1956 she and David married in New York City. Their first child, Marget, was born in Philadelphia and their subsequent children were born in Washington, D.C., where David worked in basic research at the Army Institute of Research at Walter Reed Hospital. In 1970, the family moved to Princeton, NJ, when David became vice president of basic research for the pharmaceutical company, Merck. 

Claire believed in family and community and was equally devoted to both.  She raised five children who were close in age with only six years between the oldest and youngest. She loved reading aloud with her children fanned out on either side of her and continued to read to them throughout their school years. The kitchen was the nucleus of the house and she was adept at making five brown bag lunches for the next day and homemade soup as a first course for the nightly family dinner while quizzing someone on spelling words or state capitals. She enjoyed participating in her children’s activities, making a kayak during a mother/daughter woodworking night class at Princeton Day School, coming to home games, and theater events. When her eldest was in college and the four younger kids in 6th through 11th grade, Claire “went back to work” as an editor at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, riding the train into New York City three days a week for the next 12 years until she retired. Claire then hit her stride becoming involved in the greater Princeton community. She served on boards and committees of numerous organizations that focused on books, education, health, community, the arts, and history. Claire’s work was recognized by the town, including being selected for the Bud Vivien Award for community service and with the establishment of the Claire R. Jacobus lecture series by the Princeton Adult School.

When asked about her civic involvement she said, “Education, enlightenment, and enrichment are the best representation of community service; they make the cornerstone of the community.” She truly lived those words. Many of her most important friendships were made through her community work and those friendships continued to flourish and sustain her throughout her life.

Claire, David, and their children loved spending August in Maine on Isle Au Haut. An annual summer tradition which was always a highlight for her was hosting a musical at the house where all on the Island were welcomed to sing folk songs by firelight in the living room. After their children had grown up, Claire and David traveled extensively; their trips always included the theater, museums, and local culinary fare.

Claire brought her joie de vivre to everything she did, and she loved to celebrate events, from the townwide opening of a new building or a visiting author, to smaller gatherings at her own home. For many years she hosted a “Lily Party” to honor the quiet work and beauty that her brother-in-law, John, brought to their garden. Her Fourth of July gathering in the backyard featured the reading of the Declaration of Independence, followed by the lighting of fireworks (with only minor run-ins with the police). She enjoyed dressing up, wishing in each New Year with a black-tie party and singing “Auld Lang Syne” at midnight. She was an avid reader and belonged to many book and poetry groups, adored folk music, and had an incredible sense of humor.

A memorial service is planned for the spring. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Claire’s name to: Planned Parenthood of Central Jersey, HiTOPS, or the Princeton Public Library.

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Lucina (Tina) Johnson Lewis

Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, great-aunt, sister, and consumer of life experience. Lucina (Tina) Johnson Lewis died suddenly of natural causes on September 29, 2023 at age 77 at her home in Durham, North Carolina.

Tina was preceded in death by her husband Winslow Lewis, Jr. in 2012. “Mom/Ma/Totally Mom/Eedie” loved to brag about giving birth to 19 feet of men, and she is survived by those three sons: Whitman Thompson (Shannon), Winslow Lewis III (Andrea), and Crandell Parker Lewis (Allison). “Granny” is also survived by grandsons Spencer Philip Thompson, Ramsey Roy Thompson, Tuckerman Winslow Lewis, and Hart Frederick Lewis. In addition, she leaves behind siblings George F.B. Johnson III, Leigh Johnson Yarbrough, Isabelle Johnson Mender, Jaqueline Johnson Pile, and Rosamond J. Strong. Joining them are hundreds of nieces, nephews, cousins, and other lifelong friends who mourn her loss, but celebrate her life.

Born to George F.B. Johnson, Jr. and Audrey Strong Johnson on January 25, 1946, Tina grew up in Greenwich, CT, and graduated from the Rosemary Hall school. Her enrollment at Endicott College was interrupted when her striking beauty took her to New York City to launch a successful career in modeling and acting. That career was also brief, as she soon decided her heart was leading her toward marriage and motherhood.

Tina loved to open and share her homes with friends, family, first-time guests, and other out-of-town visitors. Under her roof, dinners and parties reverberated with stories and laughter, while weekend mornings were commonly set to a bluegrass soundtrack with a breeze blowing through open windows. Along with Durham, her homes over the years included New York, NY; Sausalito, CA; Atlanta, GA; Princeton, NJ; Falmouth, MA; Boulder, CO; and Newport, RI. She was an enthusiastic collector of American folk art, and the walls of those homes were a tapestry of storytelling, personal history, and a life well-lived.

Life inside those homes was to experience Tina at her loving, supportive, and stubborn best. She ran a tight ship, punctuated with “Tina-isms” that echo to this day. The consummate sports mom, she earned her stripes on rainy soccer and lacrosse fields, dusty baseball diamonds, tree-lined rivers, and cold hockey rinks. Wins were celebrated, losses were shared, and minor injuries were greeted with calls to “Shake it off!” and get back out there. As a reluctant chef who made prodigious use of her prized chest freezer, meals were often served to her skeptical kids with a side dish of “This is not a restaurant.” But above all else, she seeded an appetite for expanding horizons into her children by exposing them to unique experiences, pushing them out of their comfort zones, and reminding them to seize their opportunities with a refrain of, “When the bus is there, you’ve gotta get on.”

No matter where Tina lived, she was quickly on a first-name basis with the people she encountered at her places — the market, post office, coffee shop, and so many more. The way she embraced local cultures and new experiences was perfectly captured by her membership in the alias-required Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) in Boulder, where “Silky McGill” embraced the sport of cowboy action shooting. Even local buskers knew that playing “Ripple” by the Grateful Dead when they saw her coming would get them a smile, a kind word about their playing, and a tip. Perhaps most importantly, she could tell you how to get anywhere in town without taking any left turns, which she disliked intensely.

Tina had a wicked sense of humor, punctuated with a high-pitched giggle that filled any room she was in. Nearly every holiday in the calendar year provided an opportunity to let people know she was thinking about them in the form of small packages with themed napkins, tea towels, and other handpicked goodies. It will be those days when her memory is freshest, and her loss will be felt the most.

A memorial service will be held next autumn in Newport, RI, where friends and family will say goodbye and she will be reunited with Winslow, the love of her life.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to please put a few dollars into the instrument case of the next busker you encounter bringing light to the world through music.

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Dr. Sarane Spence Boocock

Dr. Sarane Spence Boocock, a trailblazing sociologist, educator, and author, passed away peacefully in her home on December 1, 2023. Boocock was the first woman to secure a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, and first woman to lead the Sociology Department at Rutgers University, from which she retired as a Professor Emeritus of the Graduate School of Education (GSE) in 2007. Her research on early childhood education spanned over 50 years, establishing the positive correlation between early education to change children’s lives — particularly children in poverty.

Boocock taught at Yale University and the University of Southern California, was a sociologist at the Russell Sage Foundation, lecturer at the Universities of Stockholm and Goteborg in Sweden, and visiting professor at Hebrew University in Israel. Winner of a 1970 Dart Award, she was a 1985 Fulbright scholar, researching Japanese childcare systems. Boocock authored or co-authored several books, including (with Kimberly Ann Scott) Kids in Context: The Sociological Study of Children and Childhoods.

Dr. Boocock was a longtime supporter of GSE’s South Africa Initiative (SAI) run by Dr. Darren Clarke. SAI brings GSE students to South Africa, with a vision to empowering educators and students as active participants in a diverse democracy.

In retirement, Boocock enjoyed playing Bach on the harpsichord. Her partner of 40 years, Princeton University Professor Emeritus Dr. Walter Wallace, predeceased her. She is survived by her son Paul Boocock, daughter-in-law Dr. Peggy Grauwiler, and granddaughter Chloe, as well as nieces Kate, Anne, and Harriett Hopkins and nephew Will Hopkins.

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Isabella Livaudais de la Houssaye

Isabella Livaudais de la Houssaye, 59, of Lawrenceville, died on December 2, 2023 surrounded by her loving and devoted family. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, she resided most of her life in Princeton, NJ.

Isabella was a graduate of Princeton University Class of 1986 and received her JD from Columbia University class of 1990. She was the co-owner of Material Culture in Philadelphia, Pa., for over 18 years.

Daughter of the late Benton Cason de la Houssaye Jr., she is survived by her husband of 33 years David W. Crane; five children and a son-in-law: Philip Cason Crane (Francis McGill), David H. Crane, Isabella LD Crane, Oliver Crane, Christopher Crane; her mother Isabella (Livaudais) de la Houssaye; a brother Benton Cason de la Houssaye III; two sisters Nadia de la Houssaye and Elise de la Houssaye; and nieces and nephews, Nadia Vreeland, Oliver Vreeland, Cason de la Houssaye, Tolson Frantzen, Story Frantzen, Ella Frantzen, Arden Frantzen, Mark Snider, Brian Snider, Lisa Snider, Molly Hennessy, and Jack Hennessy.

The Funeral Service will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Friday December 15, 2023 at the Princeton University Chapel. Burial will be private.

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