Town Topics

Olivier G. Altman

Olivier Gilles Altman, 30, of Durham, N.C., died Saturday, September 11, while working in Athens, Greece, as the Chef Manager for Aramark during the Olympics. He was the son of Laurence Altman of Princeton.

Born in New York City, Mr. Altman lived in Roosevelt for many years before moving to Durham several years ago.

He was a graduate of the Academy of Culinary Arts in Mays Landing.

Predeceased by his mother, Josette (Faguet) Altman, he is survived by his father, Laurence Altman, and stepmother, Jeannine Hummel of Princeton; two brothers, Dylan of Nashville, Tenn. and Colin of Yellow Springs, Ohio; and a sister, Nathalie Altman of New York City.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. this Saturday, September 18 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, Route 206 and Cherry Hill Road. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 120 Wall Street, New York, New York 10005-4001; or to Children¹s Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, c/o The Children's Hospital Foundation, 34th Street and Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pa. 19104-4399.

Arrangements are under the direction of The Kimble Funeral Home.

Jean W. Patton

Jean Wilson Patton, 85, of Seattle, Wash., formerly of Princeton, died May 2 in Seattle with her oldest son, William, at her side. She had endured a decade-long bout with Alzheimer's disease.

Born in Highland Park, Mich. to Alfred and Irene Wilson, she attended Highland Park High School where she graduated as valedictorian, and went on to attend Michigan State University, where she was the first woman to graduate with a degree in chemistry. After graduation she worked as a chemist during the wartime years at the Chrysler Corporation. She subsequently married and became a homemaker.

While in Princeton she dedicated herself to raising her family and volunteer work. She was a volunteer with the Princeton schools and at Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic. She was also an active member of All Saints' Church and an avid duplicate bridge player.

Predeceased by her sister, Irene Peattie, she is survived by her ex-husband, William R. Patton of New Canaan, Conn.; three sons, William of Seattle, John of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Robert of Tucson, Ariz.; and eight grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held this Friday, September 17, at 1 p.m. at All Saints' Episcopal Chapel on Terhune Road. Interment will follow in All Saints' Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Foundation or to a charity of the donor's choice.

Stuart Robson

Stuart Robson, 90, of Princeton, died September 7 at the Medical Center at Princeton.

Born in Springfield, Mass., he graduated from Springfield College and earned a master's degree at Columbia University.

He taught at St. John the Divine Cathedral Choir School in New York for five years. He came to Princeton in 1941 and taught science at Princeton Country Day School, then at Princeton Day School, retiring in 1980.

He was a tax assessor in Princeton Township and Princeton Borough for many years.

In his spare time, he refinished antique furniture and sold Lord and Burnham greenhouses. He was a member of the the ROMEO Club, Nassau Club and the Old Guard.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Charlotte Paul Robson; a son, Stuart Jr. of Pennington; a daughter, Nancy Swierczek of Princeton; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

A funeral service was held on September 13 at All Saints' Church.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Princeton Day School, The Great Road, Princeton 08540; or to a charity of the donor's choice.

Benedict Yedlin

Benedict Yedlin, 81, of Princeton, died September 10 at the University Medical Center at Princeton. A longtime Princeton resident, he was the founder of The Yedlin Company, a real estate development and building company responsible for many commercial and residential projects in the Princeton area.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, he attended Abraham Lincoln High School and graduated from Brooklyn College.

He was a decorated veteran of World War II. Six of his 50 combat missions as a ball turret gunner in a B-24 Liberator bomber were flown over the oil fields of Ploesti, Romania.

After the war, he joined his father's construction business, building single family houses throughout central New Jersey. He expanded the business into a building and development company which, as The Yedlin Company, became responsible for such projects as Redding Terrace, one of the first affordable housing developments in Princeton Township.

He was a member of the 449th Bomb Group Association, from which he received a Humanitarian Service Award in 1998. He was also a member of the 15th Airborne Association and the International B-24 Liberator Club.

He was the founder and a board member of the New Jersey Chapter of Cancer Care, and a board member of the Foundation for Mercer County Community College. He also served on the Housing Board of Princeton Township.

In recent years, he had devoted his time to memoir writing, video production, traveling, bicycling, and philanthropic projects. He produced and directed two videos about his World War II experiences. The first, B-24 Bomber Crew, about his bomb crew¹s reminiscences, has been seen on The History Channel. The second, Brother Men Who Fly, also in book form, is about the crash over Italy of "The Buzzer," the B-24 Liberator Bomber on which he served. In 2003, he traveled to the crash site to establish a monument to the victims and to receive a commendation from the Mayor of Senerchia, Italy. Most recently, he worked on a new video project, Mission 51, which recounted his postwar visits to Romania, where be met and befriended residents of Ploesti, former fighter pilots, and anti-aircraft gunners.

He is survived by his wife, Antonia Flint; three children from his first marriage to Rita (Cahn) Yedlin, Charlie of Princeton, Jane Yedlin of Rhode Island, and Nancy Yedlin of Connecticut; two stepdaughters, Jessica Flint of New York City and Jocelyn Flint of Maryland; a sister, Isabel Wolock of Metuchen; and six grandchildren. He was predeceased by his second wife, Nancy (McCartin) Yedlin.

A memorial service is being planned for November.

Memorial contributions may be made to Cancer Care of New Jersey, 141 Dayton Street, Ridgewood 07450.

Arrangements are under the direction of The Mather-Hodge Funeral Home.