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Vol. LXIV, No. 13
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Wednesday, March 31, 2010
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Vol. LXIV, No. 13
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Wednesday, March 31, 2010
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Mary R. Capouya, 83, of Princeton, died January 31 in the Princeton Care Center.
Born in Riverton, N.J., she began school at an early age, graduating as valedictorian from Woodbury High School at the age of 16 in 1940. She attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a B.A. with distinction in English and Drama. At the University of California at Berkeley, she did graduate work in composition and was a teaching assistant. She left graduate school to help care for her aunt, Rae Denman, who had raised her and her brothers. She then worked in cryptography for the World War II effort in Washington, D.C.
In 1950 she worked at “The Pulse” in New York City, then at Twayne Publishers from 1951 to 1953, where she completed her formal apprenticeship in what would become a lifelong career, book publishing. Later, at New Directions, she met and worked with such writers and poets as Dylan Thomas, Delmore Schwartz, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Between 1955 and 1960 she had two children with her late husband, Emile Capouya, a publisher, essayist, fiction writer, and teacher. When her marriage ended, she moved to Princeton in 1961.
Ms. Capouya spent the 1960s working as a trade/text editor for the D. Van Nostrand Co., then in Princeton. She was an editor of a 36-volume history of the State of New Jersey, and worked at Male’s Book Shop on Nassau Street for 12 years.
She was active with the Friends of the Public Library and a volunteer at Bainbridge House with the Princeton Historic Society.
In the early 1970s, Ms. Capouya was the managing editor and production manager for The Pyne Press of Princeton. By 1976, she was a senior staff editor at John Hopkins University Press, while completing technical writing projects for Mobile Research and Development in Pennington, Mathematica of Princeton Junction, and other clients. In the ‘80s, she was publications coordinator of the Princeton Urban and Regional Research Center at Princeton University, then moved to Temple University Press in Philadelphia as a senior production editor, where she remained until her retirement in 1994.
Returning to Princeton in 1995, she continued to edit and to pursue historical interests, friendships, the theatre, and her lifelong interest in dogs. Among the last trade books she worked on were a two-volume series for children of Nigerian folktales, Herb Boyd’s Baldwin’s Harlem, and Row House Days by Jack Myers.
An active member of the community, she was a dedicated walker who never learned to drive. She loved New Jersey tomatoes and pithy replies.
Predeceased by a sister, Meryl Regina Denman, and a brother, Nathaniel Denman, she is survived by a daughter, Laure D. Capouya of Baton Rouge, La.; a son, John Capouya of New York City and Tampa, Fla.; and two brothers, Dr. Harry Denman of Huntington Woods, Mich. and Thomas Denman of Copake Falls, N.Y.
Memorial donations may be made to SAVE: a Friend to Homeless Animals, on Herrontown Road (www.save-animals.org).
Arrangements are under the direction of The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home.
A Memorial Gathering For Mary Buxton Ward will take place this Saturday, April 3 from 2 to 3 p.m. at Princeton Friends Meeting, 470 Quaker Road, at the intersection of Mercer Street and Quaker Road.
A reception with light refreshments will follow.
Constantine Toma, 64, of Princeton, died March 18 after a two-and-a-half year battle with cancer.
Born in Bucharest, Romania, Mr. Toma completed his master’s degree in engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest in 1967. After a successful career in Romania, he worked as a mechanical and environmental engineer in New Jersey.
Mr. Toma is remembered as a person of great insight and tenacity, warmth and generosity, both as a loving husband and nurturing father. A passionate man, he was fascinated by history, art, religion, and philosophy, as well as classical music and antiques. He greatly enjoyed summers spent at the sea, fishing, and entertaining and welcoming friends and family into his home.
He is survived by his wife, Martha; and two daughters, Cristina, 25, and Adriana Catherine, 21. His family and close friends will never forget his loyalty and dignity.
A memorial service was held at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Church in Trenton.
Arrangements were by The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home.