Messineo Memorial Service

Dorothea H. Minis

Lois J. Sorensen

Ashley E. Thomas

Dorothea H. Minis

Dorothea Herty Minis, 92, of Chestertown, Md., died at Heron Point in Chestertown on August 31.

Born in Chapel Hill, N.C., she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College in 1934 before earning a master's degree in biology from Cornell University. She then returned to Vassar briefly to teach biology.

In 1939, she married H. Philip Minis and they moved to Princeton, where they lived until 1992. From 1967 to 1994, the Minises spent summers at their home in Chilmark on Martha¹s Vineyard.

Mrs. Minis was a research associate in the Biology Department at Princeton University from 1954 to 1965. She contributed to the early research on circadian rhythms or natural clocks.

She was a talented naturalist and keen birder. She went on birding expeditions in Latin America and Africa and was a frequent contributor to Bird News in the Vineyard Gazette. As her eyesight declined from cataracts, she developed an interest in bird songs. For many years, she recorded bird songs for the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology, contributing more than 100 recordings to the Library of Natural Sounds. Her recordings of chickadee songs on the Vineyard were unique.

She was also a dedicated volunteer for civic causes, having served as a member of the League of Women Voters and as a volunteer science reader for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. For 25 years, she and her husband fought for the preservation of open space in the Princeton area, including the creation of Turning Basin Park and Shablakunk Woods. In Chestertown, she volunteered at Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge, helping conduct wildlife surveys.

She is survived by two daughters, Dorrie Ridgway of Tiburon, Calif., and Susan Spector of Baltimore, Md.; a son, Hal of Chapel Hill, N.C.; six grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.

Memorial contributions may be made either to the Nature Conservancy, Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (New Jersey Unit), or Friends of Eastern Neck, Inc.

Lois J. Sorensen

Lois J. Sorensen, 79, of Cape Coral, Fla., died August 19 at Gulf Coast Village in Cape Coral. She had been a resident of West Windsor Township before retiring to Florida in 1980.

Born in Racine, Wis., the daughter of the late Joseph and Elgie Alcott, she lived in Batavia, Ill. before moving to West Windsor. She worked for many years at Princeton University in the Engineering Department and the Office of Physical Planning.

She was active in the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church, where she was involved in Bible study groups and Sunday School. She also played the piano and enjoyed dancing, golf, and tennis.

Predeceased in 2000 by her son, James, she is survived by her husband of nearly 60 years, Howard P. Sorensen of Cape Coral; a daughter, Marianne Carnevale of Princeton; a daughter-in-law, Rosemary Sorensen of Lawrenceville; and four grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to Princeton Special Sports, 60 Marion Road West. Princeton 08540.

Ashley E. Thomas

Ashley E. Thomas, 20, of Toms River, formerly of Princeton, died August 13 at Community Medical Hospital in Toms River.

Born in Princeton, she was educated at The Woodbridge Developmental Center.

She is survived by her parents, Elizabeth Davidson and Lenwood J. Thomas Jr.; her grandmothers, Danny Kennedy and Anne Thomas; two sisters, Shawn Davidson and Jazmyn Thomas; and two brothers, Justin Thomas and Jared Thomas.

A memorial service was held on August 27 at Witherspoon Presbyterian Church, with Elder Marcus F. Edgehill, Pastor of Reconciliation and Restoration Ministries, officiating.

Arrangements were by the Hughes Funeral Home, Trenton.