Dr. Edward A. Dowey Jr., Edna M. Bohn, George Rospopa, Washington R. Johnson Sr., Anne C. Ridner.
Dr. Edward A. Dowey Jr.
Seminary professor
Dr. Edward A. Dowey Jr. of Princeton, professor of Christian doctrine emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary and an eminent scholar and historian of the Reformed theological tradition, died Monday at The Medical Center at Princeton from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 85.
Dr. Dowey joined the seminary faculty in 1957 as a professor of Christian doctrine and was named the Archibald Alexander Professor of the History of Christian Doctrine in 1982. He retired from the faculty in 1988 and was named professor emeritus.
Born in Philadelphia, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Lafayette College in 1940. He earned a bachelor of divinity degree from Princeton Seminary in 1943 and a master’s degree from Columbia University in 1947. He went to Europe to do his doctoral work with theologian Emil Brunner and received his theology doctorate from the University of Zurich in 1949. He received honorary degrees from Lafayette College, Lewis and Clark University and Coe College.
After his return from Europe, Dr. Dowey began the professional work that he would love throughout his life: teaching. He was instructor at Lafayette College from 1949 to 1951 and assistant professor at Columbia University from 1951 to 1954, engaged chiefly in the history of religions.
In 1954, he joined the faculty of McCormick Theological Seminary as associate professor of church history, where he taught until returning to Princeton in 1957 to anchor the seminary’s history of doctrine curriculum.
Among the courses most noted by generations of his students were his courses on John Calvin and Martin Luther. His book, "The Knowledge of God in Calvin’s Theology," is considered one of the best introductions to the study of Calvin.
He was ordained to ministry in the Presbyterian Church by the Presbytery of Lackawanna in 1943 and served as a U.S. Navy chaplain for three years, first with the Marines in the Pacific theater of World War II and then as a military hospital chaplain.
His foremost contribution to his denomination was as chair of the Committee on a Brief Contemporary Statement of Faith of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., which wrote the Confession of 1967. Dr. Dowey, with his colleagues on the committee, devoted more than eight years of his life to this task, culminating in the acceptance of the new confession and its incorporation into the constitution of the church.
Dr. Dowey later published "A Commentary on the Confession of 1967" and an "Introduction to the Book of Confessions," which is still used by those studying the confessional heritage of the church. The theme of this great confession of the 1960s was reconciliation, particularly racial reconciliation.
Dr. Dowey is survived by his wife, Lois; son Edward of Pound Ridge, N.Y.; daughter Elizabeth of Medford, Mass.; brother William of Malibu, Calif.; and grandchildren Colin and Alison Dowey and Luc Barbeau.
A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. May 31 at Miller Chapel at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Edward A. Dowey Jr. Prize in Reformation Studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, c/o the vice president for Seminary relations, P.O. Box 821, Princeton, NJ 085420803 or to the National Parkinson Foundation, Development Department, c/o Lois Hefferman or Julian Pearson, 1501 N.W. 9th Ave., Miami, FL 33136-1494.
Edna M. Bohn
Retired telephone operator
Edna M. Bohn of Princeton died Tuesday at The Medical Center at Princeton. She was 92.
Born in Philadelphia, she was a resident of Princeton most of her life.
Mrs. Bohn retired as a telephone operator with New Jersey Bell Telephone Co. in 1969 after 30 years of service.
She was a member of the Telephone Pioneers of America and the Order of the Eastern Star Victory Chapter 96.
Daughter of the late Frank and Bess Madden Marcellious, wife of the late Karl Bohn, she is survived by daughter Janet E. Groover; sister Betty McClenahan; brother Earl Marcellious; granddaughter Donna Macheda; and great-grandsons Richard J. Laird III and Christopher K. Laird.
Arrangements are by Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Directors, Lawrence.
George Rospopa
Mechanic at Union Carbide
MONTGOMERY George Rospopa died Tuesday at the Park Place Center in South Brunswick. He was 80.
Born in Hopelawn, he lived most of his life in Montgomery.
He worked as a mechanic at Union Carbide Corp. in Bound Brook for over 30 years.
He was a member of the Princeton Elks and a member and former chief of the Montgomery Fire Company No. 1. He was an avid hunter.
He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Catherine Chiesa Rospopa; sons Randal of Maple Shade and Charles of Hillsborough; daughters Linda Force of Flemington and Sandra Robinson of West Trenton; sister Mary Kreyling of Montgomery; five grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
The funeral will be 10 a.m. today at Hillsborough Funeral Home, 796 Route 206, Hillsborough.
Burial will be in the Rocky Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation, 1501 N.W. 9th Ave., Miami, FL 33136-1494.
Washington R. Johnson Sr.
Retired foreman
PLAINSBORO Washington Roosevelt Johnson Sr. died Tuesday at home after a long illness. He was 75.
He was a resident of Cranbury as well as Plainsboro.
He was a foreman at Mideast Aluminum in South Brunswick for 25 years.
He was a munitions worker during World War II.
Son of the late Cleveland and Mamie Johnson, husband of the late Juanita Wright Johnson and Agnes Cole Johnson, he is survived by daughters Gwendolyn Johnson Grant, Susan Johnson and C. Dorothea Johnson; son Washington R. Johnson Jr.; sister Dessie Lee Williams; brother Alexander Johnson; 11 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
The funeral will be 11 a.m. today at the A.S. Cole Funeral Home, 22 North Main Street, Cranbury.
Burial will follow in Westminster Cemetery, Cranbury.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, Mercer County Chapter, 3076 Princeton Pike, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648.
Anne C. Ridner
Medical secretary, teacher
SOUTH BRUNSWICK Anne C. Ridner died Tuesday at home. She was 74.
Born in Caldwell, she was a resident of the Kendall Park section of South Brunswick for 28 years. She was a former resident of Upper Montclair.
Mrs. Ridner was a medical secretary at Montclair Community Hospital and Mountainside Hospital in Glen Ridge. She also was an assistant teacher at the Kendall Park Cooperative Nursery School for about 20 years.
She is survived by her husband of 47 years, Bill Ridner; daughter Judith Ridner of Allentown, Pa.; son Bill Ridner of Kendall Park; and brother Al Barber of Greenwich, N.Y.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Paul Roman Catholic Church, 214 Nassau St., Princeton, NJ 08542.
Arrangements are by Kimble Funeral Home, Princeton.

