Virginia M. Beekman, Dorothy C. Mather, Elizabeth S. Counselman, James W. Clapp, Godfrey W. Harper III.
Virginia Beekman
Owned Princeton store
MONTGOMERY Virginia Manners Beekman died June 26 in Lambertville. She was 75.
Born in Perth Amboy, she graduated from Perth Amboy High School in 1945, attended Elmira College for Women and graduated from the Ambler School of Horticulture in Ambler, Pa.
She owned and operated Gene Seal Flowers in Princeton until her retirement and lived in the family homestead in Harlingen.
She was a member of the Van Harlingen Historical Society and was well-known for her knowledge of the history of the Montgomery area.
Daughter of the late Harold Manners and Florence Hughes Beekman, sister of the late David M. Beekman and Diane H. Tomenchok, she is survived by sister and brother-in-law Beverly B. and Robert Moore of Princeton; brother and sister-in-law Martin H. and Patricia Beekman of Lambertville; and several nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews and one great-great-nephew.
Burial will be private.
Arrangements are by Alloway Funeral Home, Merchantville.
Dorothy C. Mather
Retired librarian
WEST WINDSOR Dorothy C. Mather died Monday at The Medical Center at Princeton. She was 87.
Born in the Dutch Neck section of the township, she lived there her entire life.
She was librarian at Dutch Neck School for 23 years, retiring in 1974.
She was a graduate of Goucher College in Baltimore and received a graduate degree in library science at Rutgers University.
She was a member of Dutch Neck Church for 73 years, joining the congregation in 1929.
She was a member of West Windsor Senior Citizens and Retired Teachers of Mercer County.
She is survived by daughters Sharon M. Vogel of East Windsor and Kathy Mather of Greenwood Lake, N.Y.; brothers George W. Conover of Rossmoor and Walter F. Conover Jr. of Bradenton, Fla.; grandchildren Todd Vogel and his wife, Julee, Richard M. Morse and Jamie Weiss; and one great-granddaughter.
The funeral will be 2 p.m. Saturday at Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Ave. Princeton.
Burial will be at Dutch Neck Cemetery.
Visiting hour is 1 p.m. until time of service at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to Twin W First Aid & Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 385, Princeton Junction, NJ 08550 or First Presbyterian Church of Dutch Neck, 154 South Mill Road, Princeton Junction, NJ 08550.
Elizabeth S. Counselman
Former PU employee
HIGHTSTOWN Elizabeth Strong Counselman died June 10 at home. She was 77.
Born in Plainfield, she was a former resident of Milford, Conn., Avon, Conn., and Princeton.
Trained as a physician’s assistant, she worked for a time as administrative assistant to the dean of the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
While living in Princeton in 1949 and 1950, she worked as a secretary in the physics department of Princeton University.
She attended Hartridge School in Plainfield and The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y, graduating in 1942.
She was active in the Congregational Church in Farmington, Conn. and volunteered for Meals on Wheels and the soup kitchen there.
After moving to Hightstown in 1997, she was active on committees at Meadow Lakes and was a member of the Nassau Club in Princeton.
A gourmet cook and expert seamstress, she enjoyed entertaining, antiques, bridge, theater and travel.
Wife of the late Theodore Benton Counselman Jr., she is survived by brother William Lord Strong of Rumson; daughter Elizabeth B. Counselman of Princeton; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Religious Society of Friends, 470 Quaker Road, Princeton Township, followed by a reception at the Nassau Club.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th St. NW, P.O. Box 96555, Washington, DC 20077-7789 or SAVE, the small animal rescue shelter, 900 Herrontown Road, Princeton, NJ 08540.
Arrangements are by A.S. Cole Funeral Home, Cranbury.
James W. Clapp
Retired chemist
LOS ALTOS, Calif. James Wellington Clapp died June 24 of pneumonia. He was 87.
Born in Springfield, Mass., he was a former resident of Darien, Conn. and Princeton. He had lived in California for one year following the death of his wife of nearly 61 years in April 2001.
He worked for American Cyanamid for 40 years, first in Stamford, Conn. in pharmaceuticals and later in West Windsor in plant growth products.
He received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Massachusetts in 1936 and his graduate degree, also in chemistry, from the University of New Hampshire in 1938.
In Darien, he was elected to several terms as president of his neighborhood council. He enjoyed collaborating with his friends in the design of the homes and common areas of their neighborhood.
In 1961, he and his family moved to Princeton, where he volunteered with Recording for the Blind. In 1983, he and his wife retired to Fearrington, N.C. He volunteered at the University of North Carolina Hospital and at the North Carolina Botanical Garden. In 1999, they moved to an assisted-living community in Durham, N.C.
He was devoted to classical music and singing in choral groups. His other interests included history and baseball.
Husband of the late Helen Hepler Clapp, he is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Carolyn and Leo Shebalin of Daly City, Calif.; brother Edward Clapp of Chapel Hill, N.C.; and several nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The North Carolina Botanical Garden, Campus Box 3375, Totten Center, Chapel Hill, NC 27599.
Godfrey Harper III
Attorney
LAWRENCE Godfrey W. Harper III died Monday at Southern Ocean Regional Hospital, Manahawkin. He was 63.
Born in Camden, he was a Lawrence resident 12 years.
He was a practicing attorney and partner for 19 years with Stark and Stark in Lawrence.
He was a graduate of Burlington County College, Rutgers University and Widener School of Law in Delaware.
He was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and was a certified workers compensation attorney. He was chairman of the Workman’s Compensation Committee of the Burlington County Bar Association, a master of the bench of the New Jersey Workers Compensation American Inn of Court, and a member of the Robert W. Johnson Workers Compensation Health Initiative. He served as treasurer of the New Jersey Advisory Council on Safety and Health.
He was a retired major in the U.S. Army Reserve and a member of the board of directors of Trenton Police Athletic League and the board of directors of the Trenton Symphony.
He is survived by his wife, Carolyn M. Harper of Lawrence; sons and daughter-in-law David W. Harper of San Clemente, Calif., Kenneth S. Harper and Amy Harr of Denver, Douglas R. Harper of Moorestown, and James A. Harper of Yardley, Pa.; daughters and son-in-law Michelle J. and Joseph Bowling of Middleburg, Va. and Carrie M. Harper of Alexandria, Va.; and grandchildren James, Jackson and Rachel.
The funeral will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Trinity Church, 33 Mercer St., Princeton.
Burial will be in Trinity All Saints’ Cemetery, Princeton.
Visiting hours will be 7 to 9 p.m. today at Trinity Church.
Memorial contributions may be made to Trenton P.A.L., P.O. Box 4559, Trenton, NJ 08611 or Trinity Church, 33 Mercer St., Princeton, NJ 08540.
Arrangements are by Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.