Geraldine Bowers

Geraldine “Gerry” Pederson Bowers, 100, of Princeton, NJ, passed away on February 6, 2022.

Born in August 1921 in southern Minnesota, she was raised in several small cities in central Iowa during the Great Depression and learned the values of simplicity, thrift, and self-reliance, which she carried throughout her life. Gerry graduated from Nevada High School in Nevada, IA, in 1938, and then attended Iowa State College (University) where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and remained an active alumna for the rest of her life.

After college, she taught high school science and home economics in rural South Dakota. Later, Gerry volunteered for the Navy WAVES during World War II. She served as an air traffic control tower operator in Pensacola, FL. After being honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy, Gerry moved back to Iowa where she became engaged to former high school classmate, Fred Bowers. Gerry and Fred were married in Iowa in 1945. Their son Steven Bowers was born in Ames, IA. After Fred graduated with a chemistry degree, the young family moved to Elizabethton, TN, where daughter Nancy (Bowers) Zuber was born. The family moved to Princeton, NJ, in 1959.

Gerry was a beloved member of Nassau Presbyterian Church for 63 years, serving as an ordained Elder and Deacon, leading committees, and teaching church school. She was a member and leader of Presbyterian Women and in 1998 commissioned a new hymn entitled “Praise the God of All Beginnings” to the tune of “Bowers.”

Gerry often said, “If you choose to join a group, use your talents and take an active part.” She did just that with: Princeton Area Church Women United (president); P.E.O. Sisterhood (74-year member, attending state and international conventions, and president); The Women’s College Club of Princeton (president); The Present Day Club; Girl Scouts (troop leader and Council Board member); and Princeton Embroiderers’ Guild. She even taught hat-making at the Princeton YMCA.

Gerry was a daily crossword puzzler and an avid reader with a personal collection of over 1,000 books. She was a lover of the arts, regularly attending concerts and exploring museums. And she was an advocate of education for all women.

Gerry’s lifelong passion for learning extended to her travels. She joined fellow group members on trips around the world including Egypt-Israel-Jordan, Australia-New Zealand, Germany-Switzerland, and Italy-Sicily with her Nassau church members; Turkey, where she went swimming in the Mediterranean off the back of a sailboat at age 88, and a river cruise on the Elbe with Iowa State University Alumni (the “Traveling Cyclones”); and trips to Norway, France, the former Yugoslavia, Jamaica, Nova Scotia, and all over the U.S. with family and friends. Later in life, she enjoyed seasonal vacations with her family to Florida.

She loved Princeton, and most of all, she loved people. Each individual was important to her. She made deep, lasting friendships. She asked the best questions, had a terrific sense of humor and a sharp wit, and was well-known for always being cheerful and positive. She kept in active correspondence with family and friends. On her 100th birthday, she received over 100 birthday cards from around the world.

Gerry was preceded in death by her parents Carl J. and E. Melia Pederson, her loving husband Fred M. Bowers, her younger brothers George Pederson and Curtis Pederson, and her son-in-law Leo Zuber, Jr. She is survived by her son Steven F. Bowers and daughter-in-law Dora (Updike) Bowers; her daughter Nancy (Bowers) Zuber; her grandchildren Mary Grace Zuber (Todd Magreta), Andrew Zuber (Amanda), and Scott Bowers; and her great-grandchildren Max Zuber, Josephine Magreta, and Beatrice Magreta.

An open memorial is planned for February 21, 2022 at 11 a.m. in the Nassau Presbyterian Church Sanctuary, 61 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08542. Due to COVID precautions, masks are required and there will be no reception. A Zoom livestream will be facilitated by the family and is available upon request.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be made to her beloved Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton or to the charity of your choice.

Funeral arrangements have been made by Kimble Funeral Home in Princeton. Private burial will take place at a later date in Nevada, IA.

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Toba Barbara Dincin Bierman

Toba Dincin Bierman, born on October 17, 1936 in Dumont, New Jersey, died on February 7, 2022 at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center. The cause of death was Myelodysplastic Syndrome, a form of pre-Leukemia. She was a resident of Princeton for over 60 years.

Toba was educated in the public schools of Englewood, New Jersey. She attended The Child Education Foundation of Adelphi University, and graduated from The College of New Jersey with a degree in education. She then taught in the primary grades of Princeton schools for over 27 years.

Toba is survived by her loving husband, Bob, and three sons: Bradford Dincin, and his wife Syndi, of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania; Todd Andrew of Jersey City, New Jersey; Adam Gregory, and his wife, Sandra Jordan, and their daughter, Rachel Rebecca, of Princeton, New Jersey.

Toba spent part of each year in Kennebunk, Maine, and Paris, France, where she vacationed and managed a busy hobby dealing with antiques and collectibles.

This devoted wife, mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother will be remembered for her courage and strength at times of adversity, and for the love she gave to others at all times.

Friends wishing to honor her memory are encouraged to make a gift in her name to the Graves Memorial Library in Kennebunkport, Maine.

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Diane Sherman-Levine

Diane Sherman-Levine, 93 years of age, passed away on February 6, 2022. A former resident of Princeton, NJ, she was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She is survived by her three children, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Diane was an author, holistic healer, and a longtime humanitarian. Her love and laughter will be very much missed.

Services are being held privately.

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Terry Harris Grabar

December 8, 1928 – February 10, 2022

Terry Grabar died on February 10, 2022 at her home near Princeton, New Jersey. She was 93 years old.

A funeral service will be held at Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Street in Princeton, at 11 a.m. on Friday, February 18, 2022. Burial will follow at Trinity-All Saints’ Cemetery, Princeton. 

Terry was educated at Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati (class of 1946), Wellesley College (class of 1950), and the University of Michigan, where she received a Ph.D. in English literature in 1962. She had a long career as an educator, teaching in a Princeton elementary school in the 1950s, and then as a Professor of English at Eastern Michigan State University (Ypsilanti), Northeastern University (Boston), Radcliffe College, and Fitchburg State College (Fitchburg, Massachusetts), where she was for many years chair of the English Department. 

She specialized initially in early 19th-century English writing about Persia, and her later academic interests focused on English and American poetry of the 19th century and on the Bible as literature. Terry retired in 1990, and her post-retirement activities included published translations of books from French to English, as well as accomplished playing of bridge, Scrabble, and the piano. 

Terry married Oleg Grabar in 1951, and they lived in Ann Arbor, in Jerusalem, and outside Boston (in Lexington and then Concord), before moving to Princeton in 1990. Their daughter Anne Louise died in 1988, and Oleg Grabar died in 2011. She is survived by her brother Sandy Harris of Hendersonville, North Carolina; by her son Nicolas Grabar and daughter-in-law Jennifer Sage of New York; and by her grandchildren Henry, Olivia, and Mars. 

Terry Grabar was graced with natural dignity, wisdom, and humor, which touched her many colleagues and friends all through her long life. 

Extend condolences and share remembrances at TheKimbleFuneralHome.com.

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George H. Hansen

Dr. George Hughes Hansen died in Naples, Florida on February 2, 2022. He was born in Rutland, Vermont, on November 2, 1934, the son of Christian Donald Hansen and Flora (Hughes) Hansen. He graduated from Rutland High School in 1952, the University of Vermont in 1956, and the University of Vermont College of Medicine in 1961. He interned at the University of Virginia Hospital and served a Pediatric Residency at Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco, California, from 1965-1967.

He was a commissioned officer in the United States Army Medical Corps serving posts in the United States and Germany until his retirement as a Colonel in 1992. George’s natural leadership skills, sunny disposition, and knack for resolving delicate situations without rancor brought him increasing responsibilities and commands. After he retired from the Army, he used those skills at hospitals in New York and New Jersey. He was the Chief Medical Director of Mercer Medical Center and facilitated the merger with Helene Fuld Medical Center. After the merger, he took on the role of chief Medical Director at Capital Health Medical Center-Hopewell. He was a member of the Old Guard in Princeton and served as President for four years. He especially enjoyed participating in the Men’s Group at the Nassau Club and was proud to be a member. George loved to travel and maintained his sense of curiosity and interest in people, places, and things throughout his life.

He is survived by his wife Susan of Naples, Florida; daughter Kenena (Shawn) Montague of Essex Junction, Vermont; sons Michael (Renee) Hansen of Pearland, Texas, Steven (Denise) Hansen of Houston, Texas, Timothy (Diane) Hansen of Bolton, Vermont, and Erik (Brenda) Rhoda of Naples, Florida; grandchildren Kenena, Evelyn, Paul, Tanner, Carly and Lukas Hansen, Breya Montague, Kaitlyn (A.J.) Rhoda Bullock, Whitney (Eric) Barrows, Matthew Rhoda and Hannah (Hayden) Huber; great-grandson Benjamin Barrows; sister Kenena Hansen Spalding of Springfield, Virginia; sister-in-law Ingrid von der Goltz; brother-in-law Günther Berger; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents and in-laws Gerhard and Käthe “Mimi” Berger, his wives Heidi and Elaine and brother, Attorney John Donald Hansen, sister-in-law Judy Hansen, and brothers-in-law Holger Berger and Rüdiger von der Goltz. He will also be missed by the many other relatives and friends whose lives he touched with his kindness.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, February 18, 2022, at 11 a.m. at the Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital.

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Joseph M. Burns, Ph.D.

1938 – 2022

Joseph M. Burns — teacher, author, and economist — died at his home in Princeton, New Jersey, on January 27, 2022, at the age of 83. Born in New York City, Joseph Burns was the son of Arthur Frank Burns and Helen Bernstein Burns. In the 1950s, his family moved to the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., where Joe graduated from St. Albans School in 1957. Joe’s summer days were spent at the working farm his family owned for over 50 years in Ely, in the town of Fairlee, Vermont. In contrast to today, the region near the Burns farm had once been in the 1880s the site of copper miners’ economic unrest and insurrection known as the “Ely Wars.” In Joe’s youth, Ely was a summer retreat and a think tank collective for his father and other prominent economists. Joe often recalled listening on the radio as a boy with his family to New York Giants baseball late into Vermont summer evenings.

Graduated from Swarthmore College with high honors in 1960, Joe then obtained an M.A. (1961) and Ph.D. in economics (1967) from the University of Chicago. He published two books: Accounting Standards and International Finance, with emphasis on multinational corporations, and A Treatise on Markets, focusing on spots, futures, and options markets. Beginning in 1967, Dr. Burns’ teaching career led him to Texas and Rice University as an economics professor and also to California as a visiting professor at UCLA and Stanford universities. He also lectured in finance at Georgetown University and was briefly a fellow at the Hoover Institute. Burns additionally worked as the Deputy Director of Monetary Research at the newly created (in 1974 by President Ford) Commodities Futures Trading Commission (1976-1979) to regulate the U.S. derivatives market, including futures, swaps, and options. Dr. Burns then worked as a senior economist at the U.S. Department of Justice Anti-trust Division. While investigating many prominent cases of anti-competitive business practices of the time, Joe often joked how he was the foremost authority in the country on billboard advertising, work that he found interesting, unique, and controversial.

Even though he had a distinguished academic and government career, Joe was most proud of being a father to his two children, Rebecca and Stephen. When they were children, he would often sing to them the old Doris Day song, “Qué Sera Sera.” In the mornings, he would wake them up with the revelry song or Dr. Seuss’ “It’s a Great Day for Up.” At other times, to galvanize them, he would sing — very off-key — “Roar Lions Roar,” the Columbia fight song that was sung by his father to him as a child. Joe also loved to make up bedtime stories for his children about the adventures of animals, particularly bears, crocodiles, and hippopotamuses. Burns passed on to his children a love of animals, having many dogs and cats and long supporting animal rights groups. His interests also spanned from researching ancient and modern coins to extensive investigation of alternative natural medicine.

Even though both his parents were Jewish, Dr. Burns did not become a Bar Mitzvah until he was 50 years old on the mountaintop of Masada, the ancient rock fortress high in the desert overlooking the Dead Sea in Israel. This Bar Mitzvah was on the site of the mythical story of Jewish rebels’ last stand for freedom from oppressors and invaders. The primary focus of Joe’s economic work was the concrete practice of helping to ensure freedom — specifically freedom of economic opportunity in fair and transparent capitalist markets. Joe assimilated his early Episcopal and Quaker schooling and strove to discover, understand, and embrace the Jewish meaning of Mitzvot, living his life with meaning and a strong sense of fairness.

Although Dr. Burns had a serious and respectful demeanor, those who knew him appreciated his quirky sense of humor, humility, compassion and assumption of good faith, and devotion to his family. Joe made a difference in many people’s lives; he will be very missed.

Joe is survived by his wife of 30 years, Ellen Herbst Burns, his daughter Rebecca Burns, his son Stephen Burns, and his brother David Burns and sister-in-law Christina Burns. Donations in Joseph Burns’ honor may be given to Israeli Guide Dogs for the Blind (israelguidedog.org).

Arrangements are by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel.

To send condolences to the family please visit the obituary page at OrlandsMemorialChapel.com.