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Vol. LXII, No. 2
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Wednesday, January 9, 2008
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Vol. LXII, No. 2
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Wednesday, January 9, 2008
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Dr. Bernhard Word Anderson, 91, Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, died peacefully December 26 in Santa Cruz, Calif. A noted educator, author, and interpreter of the Bible, he was perhaps best known for his widely-used textbook, Understanding the Old Testament, currently in its fifth edition and read in translation around the world.
Through his writing and teaching, Dr. Anderson was instrumental in inspiring the study of the Old Testament in America in the 20th century, and in shaping theological and hermeneutical perspectives that remain influential today. As an author, his prose style addressed readers personally and without scholarly pretension, a style that he also brought to lectures and sermons. As a teacher and minister, he worked and reworked his notes, but rarely seemed to refer to them.
The son of an itinerant Australian preacher who came to America in the early 1900s to pursue a seminary education, Dr. Anderson had an enthusiasm that owed much to the American frontier. Born in Missouri, he moved at a young age to California, where his father ministered to mining towns in the mountains north of San Francisco. He became an integral part of the worshipping community, learning early to play the organ so he could accompany hymns during his father’s services.
He graduated early from high school and attended the College of the Pacific (now the University of the Pacific), where he studied music but eventually majored in religion. After graduating in 1936, he married a fellow student, Joyce Griswold, and began studies at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. He received his divinity degree in 1939, and was ordained a minister of the United Methodist Church.
With the encouragement of James Muilenburg, his teacher at the Pacific School of Religion, Dr. Anderson moved east to pursue graduate studies in Old Testament at Yale Divinity School in New Haven. He received his Ph.D. from Yale in 1945, and began his teaching career in 1946 at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y. From there he moved on to teaching positions at the University of North Carolina (1948-50) and Colgate-Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, N.Y. (1950-54).
In 1954 Dr. Anderson was invited to become Dean of the Theological School of Drew University in Madison, N.J., where he began his tenure as the youngest dean in the school’s history. In addition to leading a distinguished faculty, he continued to teach as professor of Biblical Theology and developed a special interest in archaeology. In 1956 he joined with the late George Ernest Wright to launch the Drew-McCormick Archaeological Expedition for the purpose of excavating the site of the ancient biblical city of Shechem. In 1963-64 he served as Annual Professor of the American School of Oriental Research (now the Albright Biblical Institute) in Jerusalem, where he conducted archaeological field trips into Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Egypt.
In 1968 he became Professor of Old Testament Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he and his wife Joyce maintained a tradition of welcoming his students to their home at least once during the semester. Students were invited in small groups and the evening would begin with personal introductions, followed by discussions that sometimes lasted hours. The occasion would end with Dr. Anderson at the piano, accompanying the singing of hymns and songs. After retiring from Princeton in 1983, he continued to teach, counsel, and lecture widely. From 1984 to 1996 he served as Adjunct Professor of Old Testament Theology at the Boston University School of Theology. He also taught courses at Yale Divinity School, Union Seminary, and Middlebury College, and led numerous bible study groups both in the United States and abroad.
He served as president of the Society of Biblical Literature (1980) and president of the American Theological Society (1985), and was the recipient of many honorary degrees and awards. In 1980 the Society of Biblical Literature presented him with the Julian Morgenstern Award “in recognition of his unusual success in sharing the results of biblical scholarship with a very wide audience.” A festschrift, Understanding the Word, was published in his honor in 1985.
In addition to Understanding the Old Testament, Dr. Anderson’s books include Out of the Depths: The Psalms Speak for Us Today, Creation and the Old Testament, and a study guide currently in its fourth edition, The Unfolding Drama of the Bible.
He is survived by his first wife, Joyce; his wife Monique; his children Carol, Joan, Ronald, and Ruth; and six grandchildren.
Plans for a memorial service to be held in the Miller Chapel of the Princeton Theological School will be announced later this month.
Louise Clark Hurford, 76, a former resident of Princeton, died December 20 in Waltham, Mass., after a long illness.
Born in Burlington, Iowa, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin. She married Edwin W. Goodpaster in 1954 and lived in Bethesda, Md. until 1980. She then moved to Lumberville, Pa. where she opened Louise Clark Antiques.
Her second marriage in 1985 to the late Charles Arthur Hurford brought her to Princeton, where she lived until 2005.
A strong believer in education and community, she worked with children in various programs during her life, from Head Start to the Grant School Tutoring Program in Trenton. She was active in several Princeton University and Mercer County Community College educational programs and participated in the Carnegie Lake water testing program.
She is survived by two sons, Andrew Goodpaster of Princeton and Clark Goodpaster of Waltham, Mass.; and a daughter, Emily Goodpaster-Zasa of Milan, Italy.
A family-only memorial service will be held this summer in Burlington, Iowa.
Dr. Hugo Stange, 86, a longtime Princeton resident and organic chemistry researcher, died December 30 at Merwick Hospital following a long illness.
For years prior to his retirement in 1983, Dr. Stange directed organic chemistry research at FMC Corporation’s Princeton research center, where he worked in a number of diverse fields and was awarded either singly or jointly more than 100 patents for various chemical developments and industrial processes.
Born in Elizabeth, N.J., he grew up a resident of both Mississauga, Ontario and Winnetka, Illinois, where he graduated from New Trier High School. Following his graduation from Northwestern University in 1942, he joined the U.S. Navy and served as a naval officer during World War II, stationed primarily in the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. He remained active in the naval reserve and was a member of the scientifically oriented U.S. Naval Research Reserve unit based in Princeton until his retirement from the navy with the rank of commander in 1981.
After World War II, he resumed his studies at Northwestern, earning a Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1949. He moved to Princeton in 1956 to work at the newly opened research center of Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation (now FMC Corp.).
During his career, Dr. Stange received numerous awards and held various honorary positions. He was a member of the American Chemical Society; a member and past president of Sigma Xi, the national scientific research honorary society; and a member and past president of the Association of Research Directors. In 1983, he was named a lifetime member of the British Royal Society of Chemistry.
A longtime member of the Princeton Unitarian Church, he is survived by his wife of 65 years, Margaret Helen Stange of Princeton; five children, Mark Stange of Shoreview, Minn., Paul Stange of Princeton, Karl Stange of Los Angeles, Calif., Martha Stange of Melrose, Mass., and Tom Stange of Princeton; two sisters, Vivian Stange Bryan of Northfield, Vt. and Patricia Stange Cole of Louisville, Ky.; and ten grandchildren.
Funeral services are to be private, and the family has requested that no flowers be sent.
The Reverend Maurice Calvin Wright III, 41, of Lawrenceville, died January 2 in the Capital Health System at Mercer, Trenton.
Born and raised in Conroe, Texas, he graduated from Texas A & I and later received a theological degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993, where he served a year as president of the Association of Black Seminarians.
The Rev. Wright served as pastor of area churches in Princeton and Yardley, Pa. He was employed by the State of New Jersey, Department of Children’s Services, Voorhees. He worked closely with and developed services for at risk children. He was active with his sons’ sports programs in Lawrenceville as well as mentoring children for many years.
Son of the late Maurice Calvin Wright Jr., he is survived by his wife of 15 years, Carolyn I. Roscoe Wright, an attorney with the State legislature; two sons, Jordan Theodore Robert Wright and Joshua Michael Wright, both at home; a daughter, Kourtney D. Wright of Conroe, Texas; his mother, Betty McLemore of Conroe; his maternal grandmother; three brothers, Myron, Marcus, and Rasheed Wright, all of Conroe; and a sister, Melanie Wright Smith, also of Conroe.
The funeral service was January 7 at Princeton Alliance Church, Plainsboro. Burial was in Rosewood Cemetery, Conroe.
Arrangements were by The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home.
Dorothy H. Belfiore, 85, of Princeton, died January 5 in the University Medical Center at Princeton.
Born in New Rochelle, N.Y., she lived most of her life in Babylon before moving to Princeton in 1994. She retired after 25 years of service as a civil servant with the Town of Babylon.
Wife of the late Joseph C. Belfiore, she is survived by two sons, Robert and William; two daughters, Bethanne and Karen Belfiore; four sisters; a brother; and eight grandchildren.
A memorial mass was celebrated January 8 at St. Paul’s Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Dept. 0096, Washington, D.C. 20055.
Arrangements were under the direction of the Mather-Hodge Funeral Home.
James C.M. Yuan, 64, of Princeton, died December 28 in the University Medical Center at Princeton.
Born in Shanghai, China, he immigrated to Princeton in 1992.
He retired in 1998 as senior vice president of Singer Sewing Machine with over 30 years of service.
Son of the late Yuan An Po and Chen Bay Yao, he is survived by his wife of 36 years, Pauline S.F. Chang Yuan; a son, Mark Y.F. Yuan; a daughter, Elaine Y.C. Yuan; a brother, Sheldon Yuan; and three sisters, Bay Yuan, Jean Yuan, and Sylvaine Tam.
Burial in Princeton Cemetery was private.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Mather-Hodge Funeral Home.
Diane E. Alington-Leaf, Ph.D., 65, of Princeton, died January 4 at home after a long illness.
Born in Saskatoon, Canada, she moved to the United States in 1962. She was a graduate of Centenary College in 1971 and Princeton University with the class of 1973. She received her Ph.D. in 1984. She was a freelance writer.
Daughter of the late Audrey Robertson, she is survived by her father, Geoffrey Alington; two sons, Daniel M. Leaf and Jonathan I. Leaf; a daughter, Sarah R. Leaf; three sisters, Alaine Burgess, Lynn O’Brien, and Roberta DeLuca; and a granddaughter.
A graveside service was held Tuesday, January 8 at Princeton Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, M18, New York, N.Y. 10021, Attn. Dr. Mark H. Bilsky.