OBITUARIES, June 3, 2003

Enoch J. Durbin, Grace M. Loetscher, Salvatore M. Baldino, Frank P. Benz Jr., Robert Rock, Irma S. Seitz, Julia C. Soons.

Enoch J. Durbin
Retired university professor
   
Enoch J. Durbin of Princeton died May 27 at home. He was 80.
   He was a Princeton resident 50 years.
   He was a professor in the mechanical and aerospace engineering department at Princeton University from 1953 until his retirement in 1999. Following his retirement, he continued to guide students as an emeritus professor and fellow at Mathey College.
   His main focus of research was the internal combustion engine and he worked their conversion to run on natural gas. In recent years, he published many articles explaining the environmental, economic and even political benefits of using natural gas as a replacement for oil.
   He held numerous patents in subjects as diverse as ion flow meters and tennis racket design. He was a member of the Army Scientific Advisory Group, part of NATO.
   He was a former member of the Princeton Borough Council.
   He was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton and was an avid tennis player.
   He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Marilyn Adele Durbin; sons Jon and Paul Durbin; daughter Karen Jain; and five grandchildren.
   A memorial service will be held 6 p.m. Saturday, June 14 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton.
   Memorial contributions may be made to Deborah Hospital Foundation. P.O. Box 820, Browns Mills, NJ 08015.
Grace M. Loetscher
Active in Presbyterian Church
   
EAST WINDSOR — Grace Miller Loetscher, a resident of Meadow Lakes, died Thursday at The Medical Center at Princeton. She was 94.
   Born in Philadelphia, she was a Princeton resident 55 years before moving to Meadow Lakes in 1993.
   She was a former member of the Princeton Regional Board of Education, serving four years. She was a board representative to the New Jersey State Board of Education.
   She was an active member of Chapter A.E. of the P.E.O., a past member of the Present Day Club and a member of the College Club of Princeton.
   A member of Nassau Presbyterian Church for 49 years, she was a past elder of the church. More recently she was a member of the Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church. She was a former member and past president of the Presbyterial, was assistant editor for the Board of Christian Education in Philadelphia and a former commissioner to the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church.
   She received a bachelor’s degree in English from Wilson College, Chambersburg, Pa.
   Wife of the late Rev. Dr. Lefferts A. Loetscher, a professor emeritus of American church history at Princeton Theological Seminary, sister of the late Dr. Park Hays Miller Jr., she is survived by son and daughter-in-law John and Mary Loetscher of Lawrence Township; daughter and son-in-law Elizabeth and Keith Chase of Kingston; and granddaughter Helen Greiss Dowler of Brooklyn, N.Y.
   A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. Saturday at Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church, Lawrence.
   Memorial contributions may be made to the Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church Access Fund, 1039 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648.
   Arrangements are by Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.
Salvatore M. Baldino
Carpenter at university
   
WEST WINDSOR — Salvatore M. Baldino died Friday at home. He was 93.
   Born in Princeton, he was a lifelong area resident.
   He was a carpenter at Princeton University for 25 years, retiring in 1974.
   A veteran of World War II, he served in the Navy as a Seabee in the Pacific Theater. His last job was to build a floating dock for PT 109 that Lt. John F. Kennedy piloted in Rendova, Solomon Islands.
   He was a member and past commander of American Legion Post 76, a member of VFW Post 925 of Plainsboro and a life member of Princeton Junction Volunteer Fire Co. He was a member of Chapter 41 of Disabled American Veterans.
   He was an original member of the board of directors for the West Windsor Little League, and the director of construction for the Richard J. Ward Complex. He served 20 years as a Boy Scout Committeeman for Troop 66 and was a recipient of the troop’s Man of the Year award.
   He was a member of St. Paul Roman Catholic Church in Princeton and was a longtime usher.
   He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Anne Tevere Baldino; sons and daughters-in-law John Joseph and Cheryl of Montgomery and Louis Lonnie and Karen of Lambertville; sister Marie Phillips of Gerber, Calif.; and grandchildren Jeffrey John, Andrew Mario, and Allysa Anne Baldino, all of Montgomery.
   Memorial contributions may be made to the Disabled American Veterans, P.O. Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH 45250-0301.
   Arrangements were by Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.
Frank P. Benz Jr.
Former West Windsor resident
   
FORT WORTH, Texas — Frank P. Benz Jr. died May 20. He was 73.
   He was a former West Windsor resident.
   He was vice president of Rochester Institute of Technology from 1959 to 1970; vice president of Wood & Tower of Princeton and McGraw Hill of East Windsor from 1970 to 1988; and vice president of Marshall & Swift of Princeton and Los Angeles from 1988 to 1994. Following retirement, he moved to Fort Worth.
   He was an accomplished track star both in high school and at Baldwin Wallace College. He received a master’s of business administration degree from Miami University.
   In his early years, he played piano and bass and had his own band that played in the Cleveland area.
   He was active in the youth sports teams in West Windsor.
   He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, of Fort Worth; son F. Paul Benz III of Calabasas, Calif.; daughter Dr. Nicolle Benz of Fort Worth; and grandchildren Alan Michael Orr, Lauren Orr and Davis Benz.
   A scholarship fund in his name will be established at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Robert Rock
Construction engineer at Rutgers
   
EAST WINDSOR — Robert "Bob" Rock died Saturday of a heart attack while in Princeton. He was 72.
   Born in Aliquippa, Pa., he was raised in Akron, Ohio, and lived in East Windsor for the past 35 years.
   With a career in construction, he was construction management engineer at Rutgers University 25 years, supervising the university’s largest projects throughout the state.
   A 1959 Princeton University graduate, he earned a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering and played on the varsity football team.
   He served in the Navy from 1950 to 1954 during the Korean conflict and was treasurer of American Legion Post 76.
   He was an active member of Friends of Princeton Football, Friends of Princeton Basketball, Princeton University Class of 1959 and the Varsity Club.
   Son of the late Thomas and Anna Mickovich Rock, he is survived by his wife of 44 years, Marion Cashill Rock; daughters and sons-in-law Ann Rock and Kevin Fitzsimmons of Whitehouse Station, Katherine Rock and Ralph Liberto of Hamilton, and Phyllis Rock and Peter Sellars of London, England; grandson Kevin Rock Fitzsimmons; sister Margaret Yazvac of Stow, Ohio; sisters-in-law Mary Ann Gordon of Trenton and Alice W. Cashill of Barrington, R.I.; brother-in-law Paul Schaffter of Seaside Park; and several nieces and nephews.
   The funeral will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at A.S. Cole Funeral Home, 22 N. Main St., Cranbury.
   A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at noon at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church, 251 Franklin St., Hightstown.
   Burial will be in St. Paul Roman Catholic Church cemetery, Princeton.
   Visiting hours are 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. today at the funeral home.
   In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to American Heart Association, 2550 Route 1, North Brunswick, NJ 08902.
Irma S. Seitz
Memorial service June 12
   
A memorial service celebrating the life and accomplishments of Irma Seitz, who died Feb. 14, will be held 10 a.m. Thursday, June 12 at Princeton University Chapel.
   A painter and patron of the arts, she was a supporter of the Princeton University Art Museum, donating the works of a number of modern artists.
Julia C. Soons
Memorial service Friday
   
A memorial service for Julia "Judy" Cupples Soons will be held 11 a.m. Friday at Trinity Church, 33 Mercer St., Princeton.
   A resident of Colchester, Vt., at the time of her death on Feb. 19, she was a former resident of Princeton.