Isabelle Peck Sanders
October 14, 1933 – February 7, 2025
Isabelle Sanders of Waterbury, Vermont, passed away peacefully on February 7, 2025, at the age of 91. Belle, as she was affectionately known, was born on October 14, 1933, in Ottawa, Illinois, to Mary Livek Peck and Joseph H. Peck, Sr. Her life was a tapestry of love, dedication, and unwavering faith.
Belle’s academic pursuits led her to the University of Texas, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, and later worked as a teacher in the Dallas public school system. Belle’s life took a serendipitous turn when she met Robert Sanders during what was supposed to be a three-day church retreat in Princeton, New Jersey, in the winter of 1963. Their love story was nothing short of extraordinary, with Bob proposing just nine days after their initial meeting at a reception at the Princeton Seminary. They married less than five months later in Dallas, surrounded by friends and family, almost all of whom were meeting them as a couple for the first time.
Belle and Bob’s life blossomed together as they raised their two children, Mark, and David. Their lives were enriched by their deep involvement in various Presbyterian church communities over the years, where Bob served as the senior pastor, from Utica, New York, to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and finally Greenwich, Connecticut. She complemented Bob’s ministry tremendously through her loving spirit and engagement with every parish in countless ways. This further deepened her faith, a pursuit that continued throughout her life through her avid reading and ongoing exploration of Christian theology. After moving to Princeton in 1981, Belle’s career continued in Manhattan, a city she loved, and commuted to daily while working for the Public Relations Society of America until her retirement.
Vermont held a special place in Belle and Bob’s hearts. They spent many summers vacationing there and eventually built their dream home in Waterbury in 1978. When they retired in 1990, they chose to embrace the beauty of Vermont, moving permanently to Waterbury to start a wonderful new chapter in their lives. Belle quickly became active in the community through volunteer work, and meeting new friends while playing bridge and mahjong. She was a devoted member of the St John’s in the Mountains Episcopal Church in Stowe for over 30 years, where she helped form a women’s spirituality group, in which she continued to remain active at the time of her death. She always looked forward to her weekly gatherings with her close, loving friends in her St John’s community.
Belle leaves behind a legacy of love and devotion. She is survived by her two children, David Sanders and his wife, Bronwen, of Fairfield, Connecticut, and Mark Sanders of Manhattan, in addition to many nieces and nephews. She is pre-deceased by her brother Joseph H. Peck, Jr., and her husband, Bob, who passed away in 2020 after 63 happy years together.
A memorial service to celebrate Belle’s life will be held on March 22, at St John’s in the Mountains Episcopal Church in Stowe. She will be laid to rest beside her husband in Princeton, New Jersey, where a small graveside service will take place later this spring. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to either the St John’s in the Mountains Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 1175, Stowe, VT 05672, or the Waterbury Ambulance Service. Inc., 1727 Guptil Road, Waterbury Center, VT 05677.
Belle’s spirit will forever live on in the hearts of those who knew and loved her.
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Clodius Harris Willis, Jr.
Clodius Harris Willis, Jr. was born on August 4, 1937 in Schenectady, NY, and died on February 10, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at 87 years of age. He was the youngest child to Clodius Sr. (Lignum, VA) and Katherine Vaughan Willis (Richmond, VA).
Clodius graduated from Princeton High School in 1955, where he was happy to be inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame at the age of 70 for his contributions to the state champion high school track team from 1952-1955. Hitchhiking himself to his interview at Amherst College, he enrolled and studied French language and excelled at varsity soccer, graduating in 1959. He went on to study linguistics and phonology at University of Rochester where he not only earned his doctorate, but also met the love of his life, Maxine Cooper Willis. They got married in the scenic mountains outside of Pittsburgh where she grew up, and they spent their honeymoon at Lake Willoughby, Vermont; a place that continues to be special for his whole family.
His education and academic prowess led him to several teaching positions including implementing French-immersion education in Prince Edward Island, Canada, and at the University of Richmond. He then changed career directions and became a skilled software engineer drawing on his linguistic understanding of language and syntax.
People are multifaceted and can show up differently as time, health, and other circumstances change. This was all true of Clodius. He once described himself as preferring to take pleasure in accomplishments over seeking fun. When faced with unrelenting health challenges he once shared that his motto was “Choose life and stand tall.” Although he was sparing in expression of his thoughts and feelings, he exhibited great depth to both when he allowed himself to express it to others. This depth showed up in a love of his family, including his sisters and their children. More so, it showed up in his actions and accomplishments, which he would proudly share with those he loved most. Such accomplishments included planning elaborate and special family vacations, building one-of-a-kind beautiful wooden objects for the home, playing classical guitar, learning to use a hand loom and weaving lovely useful textiles, and baking Parisian delicacies before they were available in the small town of Gettysburg, PA. In addition, he made time to explore and learn about what his children loved to do whether it was supporting playing soccer or learning to portage a canoe. He was very sharp and well read. With these skills combined he could be quite a wit, especially with the written word. He was one who believed in working towards peace in the world. May his spirit rest peacefully, bring peace to each of us, and contribute to peace in the world.
He is survived by his wife Maxine, sons Henry (Sukanya) and Sam (Jeremy), three grandchildren (Neelkumar, Anisha, and Dahlia), two of his sisters Lee and Sally, and many nieces and nephews. His family is thankful for the support provided by his caregivers and doctors.
A family service was held at Rodef Shalom in Pittsburgh. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in his memory to Adams County Habitat for Humanity (habitatforhumanityadamscountypa.org), where he volunteered, or the charity of your choice.
Arrangements by John A Freyvogel Sons, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA. (freyvogelfuneralhome.com).
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Owen Shteir
(May 30, 1933 – February 9, 2025)
Owen Shteir loved his family, the natural world, art, classical music, and learning. He will be remembered as a wonderful husband, caring father, and skilled physician, but also for his devotion to learning, his kindness, and his tenacity.
Owen was born and raised in Dutch Neck, New Jersey, where he fished for pickerel in Assunpink Creek, watched birds in the woods, and worked in his parents’ general store. He attended Princeton High School. He excelled in science. In 1951, he was a finalist in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search (now the Regeneron Science Talent Search).
Owen graduated from Princeton University, where he majored in biology, in 1955. He received an MD from The Yale School of Medicine in 1959. He was a dermatologist at Princeton Medical Group for more than 30 years. Owen also had a deep interest in tropical skin diseases and volunteered in Brazil and on the island of Saint Lucia, serving as a visiting physician and treating residents with skin conditions.
Owen loved to learn and had many hobbies. While living on a two-acre wooded property on Stuart Road, he created a beautiful native plant, wildflower, and rock garden. Some of Owen’s favorite native plant species were trout lilies, bloodroot, and pink ladies’ slippers. He loved the trees that towered over his Stuart Road property: American beech, shagbark hickory, white oak, red oak, black oak, and tulip. Owen also enjoyed watching the many songbirds that frequented the garden for food, shelter, and nesting sites. He was passionate about nature and believed that plants and animals had their own inherent value and right to exist.
Owen had many gifts as a learner and a teacher. He was inquisitive, patient, and calm, but also perseverant, self-motivated, and stoic. Each night after dinner, Owen joined his wife in the living room where they read until they went to bed. His interest in literature ranged from modern fiction to ecology, from Shakespeare to ancient Greek history. He instilled his love of learning and his love for good writing in his children.
He is survived by his wife, Marilyn Shteir, of Princeton, New Jersey, and his two children, Rachel Shteir, of Chicago, and Seth Shteir, of Montana.
Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on earth who is both steel and velvet, who is as hard as rock and soft as drifting fog, who holds in his heart and mind the paradox of terrible storm and peace unspeakable and perfect.” With these words the poet and Lincoln biographer Carl Sandburg began his address to a joint session of Congress on the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, February 12, 1959.
