Town Topics

Mary K. Applegate

Mary Kehoe Applegate, 86, a resident of Princeton for 40 years, died March 2 at home.

Born in Lynn, Mass., she was the daughter of Matthew and Elizabeth Kehoe, both of whom were born in Ireland.

She was a graduate of the Temple University Business School.

During World War II, she was employed as an electronics inspector at the Naval Development Center in Philadelphia.

She was the secretary-treasurer of Aeronautical Research Associates of Princeton, and served as a director until her retirement in 1979. She was also president of the Princeton Soroptimist Club until 1974, and was an active community volunteer.

An avid traveler, she visited more than 80 countries during 40 overseas trips.

Predeceased by her husband, George, and a brother, Eugene Kehoe, she is survived by a stepson, Ralph W. Applegate, of Mt. Laurel; a stepdaughter, Barbara P. Gapinsky of Sparks, Nev.; three step grandchildren; and three step great-grandchildren.

Burial was in Princeton Cemetery.

Arrangements were by The Kimble Funeral Home.

Memorial Contributions may be made to The Guide Dog Foundation, 371 Jericho Turnpike, Smithtown, N.Y. 11787.

Daniel F. Herman

Daniel F. Herman, 84, of Princeton, died February 10.

He obtained a B.S. in organic chemistry with "highest distinction" in 1939 from Purdue University, and an M.S. from the same institution a year later. After obtaining his Ph.D. from Penn State in 1943, with research in the field of polymerization of vinyl fluoride, he entered industry as a consultant. During this period he was awarded five U.S. patents. In 1947 he joined NL Industries and spent 35 years there, advancing from research scientist to directorship positions in the central laboratories. While at NL Industries he was awarded 40 more U.S. patents for various products and processes. After retirement he continued to contribute to the development and commercialization of medical devices and drug delivery systems. He maintained associations with various universities including membership on the Advisory Council to the Princeton University Polymer program from 1970 to 1980.

He enjoyed music and played the violin in a string quartet with his wife and daughter for many decades. He was also a photographer and designer of furniture. His house, on which he worked for close to 40 years, was an expression of his artistic and technical sense. His second homes were the swimming pool and the library.

He is survived by his wife, Cecile; a daughter, Elaine; and a grandson.

Jeanne W. Loud

Jeanne Willem Loud, 102, of Princeton, died January 31 at the Princeton Medical Center.

Born in Brussels, Belgium to French parents, she was sent to Paris during the German occupation of Belgium during the First World War, where her father was in the French Army. At a young age, in both Brussels and Paris, she attended art school.

Soon after the war, she emigrated to the United States as the guest of a family in Cambridge, Mass. Shortly thereafter, she was offered a job teaching design at Cooper Union in New York City. It was in New York that she met her future husband, Alexander Loud. They married in 1929 and lived in New York City until moving to Morristown. Her summers were often spent in Provincetown, Mass., an art colony where she painted.

After her husband's death in 1946, she returned to New York City to teach art. In the '50s, with her children grown, she moved to San Francisco where she joined a group of artists at the San Francisco Art Institute. She began to paint in the style of the Bay Area Figuratives. Her paintings were shown in juried shows at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and at the Oakland Museum, which bought a prize-winning painting now in its collection. She had a one-woman show at the Six Gallery in 1957.

She settled in Princeton in 1962 to be near her grandchildren and to be within easy distance of New York City, where she became a weekly visitor to the art galleries and museums. She continued to paint and soon changed from the painterly, expressionist style to hard-edge abstraction using bright primary colors.

Mrs. Loud enjoyed swimming in the summers at the municipal pool in Princeton. She also enjoyed gardening, tending to her red and pink tulips and irises every spring.

She was predeceased also by a son, Alexander; a daughter, Frances; and a brother, Henri. She is survived by a daughter, Xandra, of Berkeley, Calif.; a sister, Helene Beublet of Brussels; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

A private memorial service is planned this summer on Cape Cod.

Janet S. Stoltzfus

Janet Sorg Stoltzfus, 73, a former teacher at Princeton Day School, died March 5 at the University Medical Center at Princeton after an extended illness.

Born in East Orange, she was the daughter of the late Harrison Theodore Sorg and Mildred Sorg Blasius. She grew up in Summit and Short Hills, graduated in 1948 from the Kent Place School in Summit, and received her B.A. in English from Wellesley College in 1952, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received a B.Litt. from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, in 1953.

In 1954 she served as an English teacher at the Beirut College for Women in Beirut, Lebanon, where she met her future husband, William A. Stoltzfus Jr., a Foreign Service officer. They were married in the Princeton University Chapel in August, 1954, and left immediately for their first Foreign Service post in Kuwait.

Over the next 28 years in the Middle East and Africa, Mrs. Stoltzfus was headmistress and teacher at the English School of Kuwait and the American School in Damascus, Syria; founder of the Taiz Cooperative School in Taiz, Yemen; and developer and head teacher of a "Head Start" styled program for low-income families in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She also served as a volunteer coordinator for an enrichment program for children with cerebral palsy managed by the Kuwait Handicapped Society.

In 1976, she moved to Princeton, where she served for 12 years as a faculty member at Princeton Day School, teaching English and religion until she retired in 1994. From 1986 to 1990, she lived in London, where she founded and edited the Ellesmere Gazette, a newsletter by and for senior citizens.

She is survived by her husband, William; two sons, William III of Hopewell and Philip of London, England; three daughters, Winifred S. Host of Wallingford, Pa., Susan M. Stoltzfus of South Brunswick, and Rebecca S. Dineen; a sister, Winifred S. Vogt, formerly of Princeton and now of Dummerston, Vt.; and six grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 21 at Nassau Presbyterian Church. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Nassau Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau Street, Princeton 08540.

Arrangements are under the direction of The Kimble Funeral Home.