Raymond J. Smith
Raymond J. Smith, longtime editor-in-chief and publisher of the literary magazine The Ontario Review and Ontario Review Press, died on February 18 at the University Medical Center at Princeton. He was 77.
The cause was complications following pneumonia. He had been hospitalized one week.
Founded in 1974 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, by Mr. Smith and his wife, the writer Joyce Carol Oates, The Ontario Review was conceived as a “North American Journal of the Arts” intended to bridge the gap between Canadian and American literary cultures. Since 1978, the magazine and the press have been published in Princeton, where Ms. Oates is a professor at Princeton University.
Over the years, fiction, poetry and essays from Ontario Review have frequently been represented in annual anthologies including the Pushcart Prize: The Best of the Small Presses. New and emerging writers as well as established writers such as John Updike, Nadine Gordimer, Edmund White, Margaret Atwood, Annie Dillard, Donald Hall, C.K. Williams and Russell Banks have appeared in its pages.
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on March 12, 1930, Mr. Smith received a Ph.D. in English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and prior to leaving the academic world to take up publishing in 1980, he taught English literature at the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario and New York University. He is the author of a critical study on the 18th century satirist Charles Churchell.
He is survived by his older sister Mary and his wife Joyce Carol Oates.
James A. Cipriano, 54, died Friday, February 15, at his home in Cranbury. He was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in January 2007 and had the most progressive form.
Born in Hazleton, Pa., he attended Mother of Grace Grade School and Hazleton High School. Upon graduation from Villanova University and marriage to Pamela Damato in 1975, he and his wife lived in Philadelphia, Tampa, Chicago, and then settled in Cranbury 23 years ago.
He began his career as an auditor working for Price Waterhouse in Philadelphia, holding multiple positions at Price Waterhouse and Coopers and Lybrand, including international Human Resource management, and traveling to over 30 countries. Feeling the entrepreneurial bug, he began a Human Resource consulting business of his own. He helped companies of varying size with recruiting, training, and management development. He also gave numerous motivational and inspirational speeches to various groups and organizations.
Outside of work, he was a mentor, teacher, and volunteer. He was honored with NJ Volunteer of the Year in 2000 by First Concern Inc. for his role as a Family and Children’s Services mentor and operational advisor. He also taught multiple grades of Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) at St. Paul’s Church in Broomall, Pa. and St. Anthony of Padua’s Church in Hightstown. A gifted conversationalist, he could often be found offering advice, debating political views, discussing the latest Yankees victory, or reminiscing about how his Villanova Wildcats miraculously won the National Championship in 1985.
He is survived by his wife, Pamela; parents, Anthony and Margaret Cipriano of Hazleton; brother Ronald Cipriano of Florida; four children, Ashley Rue of Montgomery, Krista Stefanisko of Hamilton, Anthony N. and Jamie Cipriano of Cranbury; and two grandchildren, Ciprianna Nicole Rue and Tyler James Stefanisko.
The Funeral was held on Tuesday from the Mather-Hodge Funeral Home 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton. Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at Queenship of Mary Church in Plainsboro.
There will also be a visitation on Wednesday, February 20, 2008, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Fierro Funeral Home 26 West Second Street, Hazleton, Pa.
The family has requested that in lieu of flowers a donation be made in his name to The Joan Dancy and People with ALS (PALS) Support Group.
Checks can be sent to: Riverview Medical Center, Riverview Terrace Building, 2nd Floor Front Street, Red Bank, N.J. 07701.
Maria Elisabeth Janhofer died peacefully on February 11 at Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington after a long battle with breast cancer.
Born to Maria and Georg Menke on July 11, 1958, in the small German town of Lahn, she was the eldest of six siblings. Taking care of her younger brothers and sister, she learned the meaning of family values. After high school, she was the only member of her family to leave home and go to University, finishing with a Master's degree in library and information science. Part of her studies were at Florida State University in Tallahassee as a Fulbright scholar. During that year, she and her future husband Guenter fell in love with the U.S.A.
After a 10-year career as head of the documentation department of German publisher Gruner+Jahr, Maria focused on her two children David and Emily, who were born in 1990 and 1994 respectively. Having spent two years in northern New Jersey in the early 1990s, she relocated to Skillman in 2000.
In addition to her two children and husband, she is survived by her sister Anita and her brothers Friedhelm, Hans-Georg, and Ludger, all from Lahn, as well as many nieces and nephews, friends, and neighbors.
A Mass of a Christian Burial is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, February 20, at St. Paul’s Church in Princeton.
A memorial contribution may be given to the Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center, 2100 Wescott Drive, Flemington, N.J. 08822.
Mary Labow(nee Cohen), 99, of Ewing, died February 12. Formerly of Princeton, and Scarsdale, N.Y., she was the mother of Marshall Labow of Stamford, Conn. and Arlene Hauser of Princeton; the grandmother of Alissa Hauser and Aron Hauser. She was active for many years in Hadassah, B'nai Brith Women, and Temple affairs. Graveside services were held Friday, February 15, at Roosevelt Memorial Park, Trevose, Pa. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to the Brown Hauser Tikkum Olam Fund c/o Jewish Community Foundation of the Greater East Bay, 300 Grand Ave., Oakland, Calif. 94610. The funeral arrangements were handled by Joseph Levine & Son.
Katherine Cuomo Mennella, 88, died February 1, at St Joseph’s Skilled Care Center at Morris Hall in Lawrenceville.
Born in Princeton, she resided in Somerville for many years. She was a graduate of Trenton State Teachers College, where she also earned her Masters Degree. She taught in the Somerville public school system for over 40 years.
She was a member of St. Paul's Catholic Church in Princeton and the Immaculate Conception Church in Somerville.
Daughter of the late Joseph and Angelina Telese Cuomo and the wife of the late Camillo Mennella, she was also predeceased by her brothers, Michael, Anthony, Frank, and John Cuomo, and her sisters Theresa Nini, Molly Parker, and Elvira Guadagno, all of Princeton and Paul Cuomo of Florida.
She is survived by six nieces, many great nieces and nephews, and many great-great nieces and nephews.
A mass of Christian Burial took place on Saturday, February 16, at St. Paul's. Memorial contributions may be made to Health Care Ministry, PO Box 1517, Princeton 08540.
Marjorie M. Jaeger died peacefully in her home on February 12, surrounded by her children.
She was born on November 10, 1919 in Weehawken, N.J., the eldest daughter of William A. Maher and Mary Agnes O'Toole Maher. She graduated from Holy Angels Academy in Fort Lee in 1937, then attended Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School. She worked in the advertising business in New York City during the 1940s, where she met her future husband Harold (Hal) H. Jaeger. They were married on April 17, 1948. They had two children, Sarah and Hector, and their family included Hal’s daughters from previous marriages, Gretchen and Elizabeth. The family lived in Connecticut, New York City, and Maryland before moving to Princeton in 1961.
Working in the real estate business in Princeton for over 40 years, she retired in December, 2006, having been with Peyton Associates for over 30 years. She was a longtime member of the Altar Guild at Trinity Church. Wherever she lived she kept a bird feeder and a bird book close at hand; watching the birds was a lifelong delight. She also enjoyed traveling to visit her children.
The description in her high school yearbook remained true all her life: “The ‘Original Perfect Lady’ is the one and only title for Marjorie. She has gained our gratitude and admiration … because of her cooperation in creating a harmonious atmosphere.”
She was preceded in death by her husband, Hal, in 1971, and by her sister, Zita Burdette, and brother, William Maher. She is survived by her daughter Sarah Jaeger of Helena, Montana; her son Hector Jaeger of Bath, Maine; stepdaughter Gretchen Swisher of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; and stepdaughter Elizabeth Bourne of Thornwood, N.Y., as well as eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
A memorial service was held on Saturday, February 16, at Trinity Church. In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorial contributions be sent to the Trinity Church Endowment at 33 Mercer Road, Princeton, N.J. 08540.
Dorothy O. Burns, 92, of Princeton, died Friday, February 15 in Acorn Glen, Princeton.
Born in New Kensington, Pa, she resided in New Brunswick and Montclair before moving to Princeton 10 years ago. She was a member of the Central Presbyterian Church, Montclair; the Montclair Womens Club; and the Daughters of the American Revolution; she was also a volunteer of the Red Cross.
Daughter of the late William and Mary Whitacker Ormesher, wife of the late Leslie W. Burns, she is survived by two sons, Leslie C. Burns and Richard A. Burns, a daughter, Patricia Anne, and eight grandchildren, 14 great- grandchildren, and six great great grandchildren.
A graveside service will be held Wednesday, February 20, at 11 a.m. at the Mount Hebron Cemetery, Upper Monclair.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.