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Vol. LXII, No. 45
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Wednesday, November 5, 2008
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Vol. LXII, No. 45
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Wednesday, November 5, 2008
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Edith Aleš, 83, of Princeton, died peacefully October 31 at home, surrounded by her family.
Born in Uzhorod in the Czechoslovak Republic, she was the first child of Moskovits Lajos and Sternberger Szerén.
An avid reader, she had planned to study literature in the great capitols of Europe but saw her horizons narrowing. She urged her father to leave Hungary, or at the very least to permit her to leave with her younger brother. Her father, a Hungarian army veteran, was confident that as an upstanding citizen and owner of a successful commercial bank, his family had nothing to fear from the Nazis. However, in the spring of 1944 those Jews remaining in Uzhorod were rounded up and herded into the town’s brick factory, which had been owned by Edith’s grandparents. From there Edith and her family were deported to Auschwitz. Her younger brother Istvan was murdered upon arrival at Auschwitz in June, 1944. Edith and her mother, along with many of the women from Uzhorod, were sent on from Auschwitz to a series of labor camps in Latvia and Poland. They were liberated in the spring of 1945 by the Russian army. Upon returning to Ungvér/Uzhorod, they learned that her father had died in Auschwitz in 1944.
After the war, Edith and her mother relocated from Ungvér, Hungary to Prague, Czechoslovakia. She then entered medical school at Charles University and began dating Ausländer Mor, originally from Uzhorod, who changed his name to Aleš Miroslav (Milton/Mike). The couple married in 1948 in Newark, N.J. Their two daughters, Susan Juliet and Kathy Lynne, were raised in West Orange. Mrs. Aleš became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1954.
She worked at night in the Edison light bulb factory in West Orange to supplement the family income and later worked alongside her husband in their store, Mme. Minerva Cleaners in New York City. She continued to be an avid reader and loved music and the arts. She was passionate about travelling, seeing the world, and planning the next trip. A strong supporter of Israel and Holocaust remembrance, she was active in the Association of Jews from Uzhorod and Vicinity and contributed to many Jewish charities.
She relocated to Princeton in 1996.
She was predeceased by her husband Milton (Miroslav Auslander) in 1993 and by a daughter, Susan Juliet Ellson, in 1995. She is survived by a daughter, Dr. Kathy Aleš of Princeton, and seven grandchildren.
The funeral and burial were at Washington Cemetery in Deans, N.J. A period of mourning was observed at the Aleš residence on Nassau Street.
Memorial contributions may be offered to the Jewish National Fund.
Funeral arrangements were by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel, Ewing Township.
Jane Holt Seale, 63, daughter of Helen Holt and the late Senator Rush D. Holt of West Virginia, died October 28 in her home in New Orleans, La. of multiple myeloma. Her father was the youngest U.S. Senator ever elected and her mother, Helen Holt of Washington D.C., was the first woman to serve as Secretary of State of West Virginia.
Mrs. Seale was born in Weston, West Virginia and attended Greenbrier College in Lewisburg, West Virginia. She graduated from St. Louis University.
A lifelong historian, she worked on the Louisiana historical collection at Loyola University of New Orleans. For most of her life she bought and sold antiques and historical items. With her former husband, David Seale, she operated Holt’s Unlimited Shop.
She moved to New Orleans in 1965 and became a loyal advocate of her adopted city, engaged in local political and civic causes. She was a devotee of the Louisiana Historical Society, the Louisiana Philharmonic, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the NPR station WWNO. She also found great enjoyment as a bridge player. She was well known for her prodigious memory, uncompromising honesty, and faithfulness to her friends.
She is survived by her only son, Rush Holt Seale, a banker in Washington, D.C.; her mother; her brother, Rush Holt, a Member of Congress representing New Jersey; and a cousin, David Chase of Moira, New York, who became a member of the family.
A service of remembrance and celebration was held October 30 at the Community Church Unitarian Universalist in New Orleans.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Community Church rebuilding fund or to The Abstract Rehabilitation Center, PMB 185, 5721 Magazine Street, New Orleans, La. 70115.
An online guest book may be found at www.mem.com. Arrangements were by Jacob Schoen & Son.
Warren Froehlich Jr., 70, of Eagle Lake-Fort Kent, Maine, died unexpectedly October 27.
Born in Princeton, he was the son of Warren Sr. and Louise Marshall Froehlich.
He served in the U.S. Navy from 1956 to 1959.
He took great pride in his home, spending time working around the yard.
He and his wife of 47 years, Sandra (Strachan) Froehlich, were inseparable.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Wendy Dube of Eagle Lake; a son, Donald of Portland, Maine; three brothers, Ted and Edwin of Princeton and Gary of Port Orange, Fla.; and five grandchildren.
The funeral was October 31 at the Daigle & Nadeau Funeral Home in Fort Kent with Gary Gardner officiating. A graveside service followed in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Eagle Lake.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Edgar J. (Guy) Paradis Cancer Fund, Northern Maine Medical Center, 194 East Main Street, Fort Kent, Maine 04743.
Doris Shapiro, 82, an unschooled philosopher who loved Motown music and the ocean, died October 1 at the Heartland Nursing Home in Lauderhill, Fla. She was a longtime Princeton resident before moving to Florida.
Known for her offbeat sense of humor, colorful style, and generosity, she cultivated many devoted friends of all ages.
Born Doris Mae Seidemann in Pittsburgh, she moved with her family to the Jersey Shore when she was very young. As a child, she read for hours on the jetties of Margate City and Ventnor.
Growing up during Atlantic City’s heyday as a resort town, Mrs. Shapiro remained under the spell of its nightclubs, grand hotels, and boardwalk throughout her life. She was particularly fond of Lucy the Elephant, a work of architectural whimsy built in 1881 south of Atlantic City. The six-story structure is now a National Historic Landmark.
In 1964, she returned to Atlantic City with her husband for the Democratic National Convention, where she socialized with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. It was a triumph for someone from a poor background who had not finished high school.
At 16, she left home to make a living in Washington, D.C. During World War II, she worked at the Government Printing Office. She later moved to New Brunswick, where she took a job as a switchboard operator at the Daily Home News. She also wrote a help column called “Doris the Answer Girl.” At the paper, she met her future husband, Lester Shapiro, a sports and political reporter. In 1952, the two wed in secret and later celebrated their marriage in a Jewish ceremony.
Together, the couple felled trees and cleared the land for a single-story home in Rutgers Heights, N.J., where they raised three children.
An avid gardener, she filled her suburban backyard with iris, day lilies, and dozens of perennials.
In 1964 the family moved to Princeton, where Mrs. Shapiro continued to struggle with an undiagnosed mood disorder, swinging between high spirits and depression never adequately treated. That did not stop friends drawn to her native intelligence and sardonic worldview. Nor did illness prevent her from earning a GED in the mid 1970s.
For a brief period in the late 1970s, she also operated an antique shop in Jobstown, N.J., filled with finds from flea markets and attics. In 1987, she moved to Pembroke Pines, Fla.
She is survived by three children, Stephanie Shapiro of Baltimore, Md., Roberta Shapiro of Pawtucket, R.I., Paul Shapiro of Geneva, Switzerland; and five grandchildren. Her marriage ended in divorce.
Mildred L. Groo, 99, a longtime resident of Princeton, died October 29 at home.
Born in Highland Mills, N.Y., she was the daughter of Rufus C. Gardner and Gertrude E. (McClennan) Gardner. With her late husband, Kenneth R. Groo, she resided in Highland Mills and in neighboring Central Valley, N.Y. before moving to Princeton in 1942.
Mrs. Groo was an operator for New York Telephone Company prior to her marriage, after which she became a full time homemaker.
A lifelong Methodist, she had been a member of Princeton United Methodist Church since 1943, serving on the altar guild and prayer chain.
In addition to her husband of almost 60 years, she was predeceased by a brother, R. Franklin Gardner, and a granddaughter, Laura Beth Groo. She is survived by two sons, David K. Groo of Potomac Falls, Va. and Robert C. Groo of League City, Texas; a daughter, Verna E. Groo of Princeton; three grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
The funeral service was November 1 at the Princeton United Methodist Church. The Rev. Jana Purkis-Brash officiated.
Burial was in the Cemetery of the Highlands, Highland Mills, N.Y.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Louise Grow & Peggy Fullman Christian Education Fund through the Princeton United Methodist Church, 7 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton 08542; or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
Funeral arrangements were under the direction of The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home.
Gennaro Arcamone, 90, of Princeton, died October 29 at the Pavilions at Forrestal in Plainsboro.
Born in Ischia, Italy, he lived in the Princeton area and was employed by the R.C. Bowers Construction Company. He was Mr. Bowers’ gardener.
Mr. Arcamone was honorably discharged after faithfully serving his country during World War II. After the war he remained in Africa for a few years, later working for an American oil company in Iraq.
He is survived by his wife, Concetta, a son, Giovan Guiseppe, and a daughter, Maria, all of whom reside in Italy.
The funeral service was November 3 at the Kimble Funeral Home, followed by a funeral Mass at St. Paul’s Church. Burial was in Princeton Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Paul’s Catholic Church, 214 Nassau Street, Princeton 08542.