Town Topics

Preston R. Clement

Preston Rively Clement, 78, of Ewing Township, died June 18 at the University Medical Center at Princeton.

Born in Kansas City, Mo., he was inducted into the United States Naval Reserve at the University of Kansas, serving there until the end of 1945, at which point he was commissioned as an ensign and served as deck officer on a destroyer escort based in Hong Kong. During the Korean War he conducted military research at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico.

In the fall of 1946 he returned to the University of Kansas, where he was a teaching assistant until he received his master's degree in electrical engineering and mathematics in June, 1948.

He then attended Princeton University as a graduate student, receiving his Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1950. He joined the Princeton faculty later that year.

In 1962 he took a leave of absence from Princeton at the University of California at Berkeley. Two years later he joined the faculty of Stevens Institute of Technology as head of the electrical engineering department, later serving as Provost and Dean of the College.

While at Stevens, he was a member of EDC in Newton, Mass., where he was involved in U.S. attempts to establish English speaking technical colleges in Algeria and Afghanistan. He spent many months in those countries.

In 1978 he went to Saudi Arabia as a professor at the University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran. He subsequently returned to Princeton University, serving for several years as a visiting faculty member. During this time he also served as a visiting faculty member at Edison College.

He was the author of a textbook and numerous technical articles.

He is survived by a friend and confidante of 48 years, David G. Glen; and by a cousin, Mary Eleanor Bates of Lenexa, Kans.

A funeral service will be held on Thursday, June 24, at 11 a.m. at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Pennington, with the Rev. John C. Belmont, rector, officiating. Burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to SAVE, 900 Herrontown Road, Princeton 08540.

Arrangements are by the Wilson-Apple Funeral Home, Pennington.

Tessie M. Costa

Tessie M. Costa, 76, of Princeton, died June 18 in the Merwick Unit of the University Medical Center at Princeton.

Born in Trenton, she was a lifelong resident of Princeton.

A 1946 graduate of Princeton High School, she attended Douglas College of Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

She was employed for many years with Horizon Bank.

She was a member of the New Testament Baptist Church of Trenton.

Daughter of the late William G. and Lemonia Vafias Manolakis, she was also predeceased by her husband of 42 years, Nicholas L. Costa. She is survived by a son, Dr. Leon of Princeton; a daughter, Lynn Antonov of Ocean Grove; a brother, George W. Manolakis of Princeton; and six grandchildren.

The funeral will be held on Thursday, June 24 at 1 p.m. in Princeton University Chapel. The Rev. Allen R. Frisch will officiate.

Burial will be in Princeton Cemetery.

Calling hours will be Wednesday, June 23 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Avenue.

Memorial contributions may be made to Advancing Ministries of the Gospel International, P.O. Box 2200, Chattanooga, Tenn. 37421; or to Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 529, Princeton 08542.

John M. Fenton, Jr.

John M. Fenton Jr.

John M. Fenton Jr., 75, of New York City, died June 8. He was a Princeton resident for two decades, from 1957 to 1977.

Born in Trenton, he was raised in Pennington, graduating from Pennington High School in 1947. He then served with the United States Marine Corps in China before attending Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., where he graduated cum laude in 1953. While at Wesleyan he spent a year studying abroad at the Sorbonne University in Paris.

He lived in Princeton until 1977 at which time he moved to Tokyo, Japan, to work for United Nations University as a research writer and chief of information services. He was previously employed with the Gallup Organization and with Princeton University¹s Public Relations Office.

After his retirement in 1985 he resided in Fairfield, Conn., and New York City.

An avid reader and traveler, he was the author of In Your Opinion.

He is survived by his wife, Yuri; a son, John of Atlanta, Ga.; two daughters, Anne Fenton-Wojtala of Falls Church, Va., and Agnes Mironov of Stockton; his former wife, Elizabeth Frohling Curtiss of Princeton; and six grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on July 17 at the Princeton Club of New York from 4 to 7 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn. 06459.

Ewing-Lloyd Fletcher

Ewing-Lloyd Fletcher, 77, of Ewing, died May 23 at home.

Born in Princeton, he was a graduate of Princeton High School and a longtime resident of the Princeton-Ewing area.

He received his B.A. in political science from Tennessee State University in 1952, then attended Temple University Law School from 1952 to 1954.

He served in the U.S. Army Air Force from 1944 to 1946.

He was employed by Educational Testing Service, starting in the College Scholarship Department and retiring as a test security specialist. He was previously employed as the director of the Mercer County Neighborhood Youth Corps from 1965 to 1967, and as executive director of the Mercer County Community Action Council from 1968 to 1981.

He was a 50-year member of the Zeta Iota Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He was also an active member of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Trenton, serving at one time as an assistant church school teacher.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Geraldine; a son, Bruce, of Ewing; two daughters, Paula Fletcher of Dallas, Tex., and Vivia Sharon Diggs of Houston, Tex.; and two grandchildren.

The funeral was at Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church on May 29. Interment was in Princeton Cemetery.

Arrangements were by the Hughes Funeral Home, Trenton.

Inez L. Hinds

Dr. Inez L. Hinds, 85, of Princeton, died June 6 at Princeton Care Center.

Born in New York City, she was a 35-year resident of Princeton.

Prior to her retirement in 1997, she was employed as a senior employment program specialist with the New Jersey Division on Aging. She had previously worked for 50 years as a professor, field supervisor, trainer, and consultant in early childhood education.

A volunteer at the Suzanne Patterson Center and a member of the Commission on Aging, she was also an avid reader, traveler, maker of dolls, and fan of crossword puzzles.

She was a member of All Saints' Church.

She is survived by her husband, Albert; a son, Christopher Aldrich; a stepdaughter, Myrna Fuller; and a sister, Modene Dawson.

A memorial service was held on June 19 at All Saints' Church. Burial was private.

Memorial contributions may be made to All Saints' Church, 16 All Saints' Road, Princeton 08540.

Arrangements were by the Hughes Funeral Home, Trenton.

Virginia B. Selden

Virginia Barr Selden, 89, of Pennswood Village, Newtown, Pa., formerly of Princeton, died June 18 after an extended illness with Alzheimer's disease.

The daughter of Joseph Wilson Barr and Florence Byles Barr, she was born in Oil City, Pa.

After attending Oil City public schools and the Miss Masters School at Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., she graduated from Smith College in 1937.

Following her marriage in 1938, she resided in Providence, R.I.; Evanston and Jacksonville, Ill.; Washington, D.C.; and Princeton before moving to Newtown in 1993. Wherever she lived she was active in community affairs, identifying herself as a "professional volunteer." Among her numerous community activities were the YWCAs of Washington and Princeton, and the United Way of Princeton, for each of which she served as president. She was also a member of the board of directors of the United Way of the Tri-State Area (Connecticut, New Jersey and New York).

Her continuing interest in Smith College was demonstrated by her involvement in alumnae affairs and by her serving as secretary and then president of her class.

She is survived by her husband, William K. Selden; two sons, Edwin of Branford, Conn., and Joseph of Little Rock, Ark.; four grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.

A family memorial service will be held in Oil City at a future date.