OBITUARIES, Feb. 25, 2003

Dorothy B. Thomas, Eula R. Carson, Julia C. Soons, Nancy Wyckoff-Jeffries, Peter Laird Vielbig, Constance Henderson, Donna J. Geer, George A. Seitz Sr.

Dorothy B. Thomas
College teacher, Princeton volunteer
   
SCITUATE, Mass. — Dorothy Boyd Thomas died Tuesday. She was 95.
   Born in Yonkers, N.Y., she was a resident of Princeton from 1940 to 1994.
   She taught at Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges prior to her marriage and move to Princeton.
   During her 54 years in Princeton, she served as president of the Nassau Street School PTA and the Princeton High School PTA.
   She was chairman of the Princeton Adult School, co-founder and chairman of the docents of the Princeton University Art Museum and sponsor and director of the Junior Faculty Wives.
   She served 12 terms on the vestry of Trinity Church, where she participated in two rector search committees and co-founded the Crisis Ministry of Trinity and Nassau Church.
   She was an active alumna of Mount Holyoke College for more than 70 years, receiving the Alumnae Medal of Honor.
   She graduated from high school at age 15 and entered Mount Holyoke a year later. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, she studied in Florence, Italy, on a Carnegie Corp. fellowship and received her master’s degree in art history from Smith College. In addition to her college teaching, she lectured at Breadloaf School of English in the late 1930s.
   Wife of the late George F. Thomas, who founded the Princeton University Department of Religion, mother of the late George Thomas, she is survived by her son, Robert Thomas of Osprey, Fla.; and four great-grandchildren.
Eula R. Carson
Worked at Nassau Club
   
NEWTOWN, Pa. — Eula R. Carson died Wednesday at Chandler Hall. She was 93.
   Born in Old Fort, N.C., she had been a Princeton resident for 50 years.
   She was a staff member of the Nassau Club for over 40 years.
   She was a longtime member of Witherspoon Presbyterian Church as well as a former trustee, a committee member of the Carson-Hamill Fund and a Sunday school teacher. She was active in the Church Women’s Association and was an associate Girl Scout leader.
   Wife of the late James Carson, she is survived by daughter Linda E. Carson of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; sister-in-law Joe Deal Coombs of Lawrence; nieces Sharon and husband Michael Feoktistov of Colonia and Rebecca Logan of Bordentown; nephews Dwayne Ellis and Elliott Feoktistov, both of Greensboro, N.C., and John Feoktistov of Colonia.
   The funeral will be 1 p.m. Friday at Witherspoon Presbyterian Church, 112 Witherspoon St., Princeton.
   Burial will follow at Princeton Cemetery.
   Visiting hours are 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at the church.
   Arrangements are by Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.
Julia C. Soons
Former Princeton resident
   
COLCHESTER, Vt. — Julia "Judy" Cupples Soons died Wednesday at Vermont Respite House. She was 80.
   A native of Princeton, she graduated from Princeton High School in 1940 and studied at art school. Following her marriage in 1943, she lived in Englewood and in 1979 returned to Princeton. She moved to Vermont in 2000 to be closer to her children.
   She was a volunteer at The Medical Center at Princeton, where she was a member of the 5/20 club and was involved in organizing the annual hospital fetes and other fund-raising activities.
   She was a member of the Women’s Club of Princeton and Princeton Fire Co. No. 1 auxiliary.
   Mother of the late Sydney Soons II, William Soons Jr. and "Cody" James Soons, she is survived by sons Peter and David Soons, both of Colchester, Vt.; daughter Heidi Soons Palmer of Colchester, Vt.; and grandchildren Aprille, Christopher, Daniel and Thomas, all of Colchester.
   A memorial service and burial will be at the convenience of the family.
   Memorial contributions may be made to the Vermont Respite House, Allen Brook Lane, Williston, VT 05945.
Nancy Wyckoff-Jeffries
Grew up in West Windsor
   
Nancy Elizabeth Wyckoff-Jeffries died Feb. 17 at the Merwick unit of The Medical Center at Princeton. She was 49.
   Born in Hightstown, raised in West Windsor, she graduated from Princeton High School in 1971.
   Daughter of the late Charles H. Wyckoff II, she is survived by her mother, Einetta (Dolly) Wyckoff of Bridgewater; husband Mark W. Jeffries of Princeton; and brother Tom Wyckoff of Ft. Myers, Fla.
   A memorial service will be held 7 p.m. Monday, March 3, at Niles Chapel, Nassau Presbyterian Church, Nassau St., Princeton.
   In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the New Jersey Eastern Star Nursing Home, 111 Finderne Ave., Bridgewater, NJ 08807.
Peter Laird Vielbig
Chef, formerly of Princeton
   
NORTH HAVEN, N.Y. — Peter Laird Vielbig died Feb. 19 at home. He was 32.
   Born in Princeton, he graduated from Princeton Day School and the four-year culinary program at the New England Culinary Institute, Montpelier, Vt.
   He was a lifelong resident of Princeton before he moved to the east end of Long Island, N.Y., five years ago.
   He was the personal chef in the home of Kenneth Kuchin and Bruce Anderson of East Hampton.
   While in high school, he had a part-time job at Nassau Street Seafood in Princeton. He interned in the kitchen of Hiro Sone at Terra in St. Helena, Calif., rated by Zagat’s as the best kitchen in the Napa Valley.
   Following Terra, he returned to the east end of Long Island, where he had spent every summer since childhood.
   Before going to work for the Kuchin-Anderson family last year, he worked in the kitchens at Nick and Toni’s, Rowdy Hall, The Beacon, and Red Bar in the Hamptons.
   He approached his cooking as if it were a gift with which he was honoring the recipient. He insisted in personally selecting each element of a recipe.
   His zest for life was contagious, according to his family, who also reported the following: He experienced depression and addiction for a good part of his life and had sought treatment. Following more than two years of sound health, he experienced a brief relapse which resulted in his accidental death.
   When not in the kitchen, he enjoyed sailing, fishing and crewed in races held at the Breakwater Yacht Club in Sag Harbor.
   He and his brother were helping to raise a puppy for the Guide Dog Foundation.
   He is survived by his parents, Peter Vielbig and Gail Morrison Vielbig of Shelter Island, N.Y., and formerly of Princeton; brother Alexander Stowe Vielbig of Sag Harbor; sister and brother-in-law Leslie and Christopher Del Col and nieces Charlotte and Lucy Del Col, all of Wellesley, Mass.; and grandmother Jeanne D. Vielbig of North Haven, N.Y.
   Gatherings to give thanksgiving for his life will be held 2 p.m. Friday at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 2, at the Siena Spirituality Center, 615 Montauk Highway, Watermill, N.Y.
   His ashes will be buried at Oakland Cemetery in Sag Harbor.
   In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Laird Vielbig Memorial Fund, care of Chris Del Col, Goldman Sachs & Co., 125 High St., 17th floor, Boston, MA 02110-2704 to be used to dedicate a memorial bench by the water at Long Beach and to fund a culinary scholarship for a student from the east end of Long Island.
   Arrangements are by Yardley & Pino Funeral Home, Sag Harbor.
Constance Henderson
Retired Firestone Library supervisor
   
LAWRENCE — Constance Henderson died Friday at Pavilions at Forrestal, Plainsboro. She was 95.
   Born in Dundee, Scotland, she came to Princeton in 1947. She resided in Princeton for 11 years before moving to the Penns Neck section of West Windsor for one year. She then returned to Princeton until 1993. She was a Lawrence resident for three years and Trenton resident for 1½ years before returning to Lawrence.
   She retired in 1973 as a supervisor in the searching section of Princeton University’s Firestone Library after 25 years.
   She was a member and past deputy of Daughters of Scotia; a member of the Princeton Chapter of Order of the Eastern Star No. 91 since 1963, which has now merged with and become Victory Chapter No. 96; a past grand officer at the state level; and a member of Morningstar Chapter No. 22 O.E.S. of Hamilton Square.
   Wife of the late John Spence Henderson, mother of the late John R. Henderson, she is survived by grandchild Moragh Henderson-Boyan and two great-grandchildren.
   A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. Saturday at Princeton United Methodist Church, Nassau Street and Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton.
   Memorial contributions may be made to Princeton United Methodist Church, 7 Vandeventer Ave., Princeton, NJ 08542 or The Eastern Star Home, 111 Finderne Ave., Bridgewater, NJ 08807.
   Arrangements are by Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.
Donna J. Geer
Former area resident
   
VINELAND — Donna J. Geer of Vineland died Friday at the South Jersey Hospital-Newcomb. She was 50.
   Born in Princeton, she was a resident of West Windsor and later Florida and Texas before moving recently to Vineland.
   Mrs. Geer was a systems analyst at IBM.
   She was a graduate of Princeton High School and Virginia Commonwealth University, Roanoke, Va., where she received a bachelor’s degree in history.
   She enjoyed animals and gardening and was a volunteer for Wheaton Village.
   She is survived by her husband, Kerry Geer; mother Lillian L. Homan of Cranbury; sister Terri A. Homan of Lawrence; aunt and uncle Marie and Warren Lewis of Pennsylvania; and several nieces and nephews.
   Funeral will be 1 p.m. Wednesday at the A.S. Cole Funeral Home, 22 N. Main St., Cranbury.
   Burial will follow in Fountain Lawn Cemetery, Ewing.
   Visiting hours are noon until time of service Wednesday at the funeral home.
   In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the SAVE Animal Shelter, 900 Herrontown Road, Princeton, NJ 08540 or to the Animal Placement Agency of the Windsors, P.O. Box 162, Princeton Junction, NJ 08550.
George A. Seitz Sr.
Longtime Montgomery resident
   
MONTGOMERY — George Allen Seitz Sr. died Sunday at Acorn Glen Assisted Living in Princeton Township after a long illness. He was 84.
   Born in Philadelphia, he moved to Montgomery in 1949.
   He was a former chairman of the Montgomery Township Planning Board, a life member and past president of Montgomery Fire Co. No. 2, a longtime member of the BPOE Lodge 2129 and a member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Rocky Hill.
   Mr. Seitz spent five years in the Navy, on a destroyer and during World War II on the submarine USS Hake.
   Son of the late Earl Milton Wilkins Seitz and Laura Lippincott Seitz, he is survived by his wife, Katherine Moore Seitz; sons and daughters-in-law Stephen E. and Sharon A. Seitz, Roger and Gloria P. Seitz, Andrew P. and Susan T. Seitz, and G. Allen Jr. and Anne DeP. Seitz; brother and sister-in-law James P. and Edna Seitz; grandchildren Scott, Colin, Benjamin, Andrew, Laurie and Michelle; and many nieces and nephews.
   A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. Wednesday at Trinity Episcopal Church, Crescent Avenue, Rocky Hill.
   Calling hours will be 6 to 9 p.m. today at Cromwell Memorial Home, 71 E. Prospect St., Hopewell.
   Memorial contributions may be made to the Crippled Children’s Fund of BPOE Post 2129, 2 Route 518, Blawenburg, NJ 08504 or to Trinity Episcopal Church, Crescent Avenue, Rocky Hill, NJ 08553.