Julia Dykstra
Julia Yaros Dykstra, 90, died Dec. 18 at the Capital Health System at Fuld.
Born in Trenton, she was a lifelong Trenton city resident.
She was employed for several years with the Switlik Parachute Company, Trenton.
Daughter of the late Ignatius and Frances Robak Yaros, wife of the late David Dykstra, sister of the late Anthony Yarosz, Thomas, Edward, Henry, Joseph and John Yaros, Helen Grantham, Estelle Toomey and Stephanie DeLang; she is survived by two daughters and one son-in-law, Nancy Dykstra of Trenton, Barbara and George T. Findler of Hamilton Township; one grandson, Thomas George Findler of Hamilton Township; two sisters, Katherine Whelchel of Huntsville, Ala., and Dorothy and brother-in-law, Joseph Dominski of Hamilton; sister-in-law, Louise Yaros of Lawrenceville; and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services were Dec. 22 at the Winowicz Funeral Chapel, 865 Brunswick Ave. Burial was in the Garden of Freedom section of Greenwood Cemetery.
Assunta Gambardella
Assunta Gambardella, 83, died Dec. 23 at St. Joseph’s Skilled Nursing, Lawrence.
Born in Naples, Italy, she lived in the Lawrence area since 1999. She was formerly of Jersey City and Lumbertown Township. She was employed as an assembly worker for Davey Co., Jersey City.
She was the daughter of the late Antonio Gambardella and Pasqualina Marino and sister of the late Gaetano Marino. She is survived by several cousins, including Umberto Fatatis and his wife Margherita, Joseph Fatatis and his wife Patricia; their families; and family members in Naples, Italy.
Funeral Mass of Christian Burial was Saturday at Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel at Morris Hall, 1 Bishop Drive, Lawrenceville.
Entombment was in Greenwood Mausoleum.
Arrangements were by the M. William Murphy Funeral Home, Ewing.
Stanley Sokolowski
Stanley C. Sokolowski, 84, died Dec. 23 at the Holly Manor Care Center, Mendham.
Born in Wilmington, Del., Mr. Sokolowski lived over 80 years in Trenton and Lawrenceville.
He was a World War II veteran who served as a Master Sergeant with Headquarters Chinese Combat Command and fought in ground combat in India, Burma and China.
He retired in 2000 after 48 years as owner of the Pacific Appliance Store on Cass and South Broad Streets.
He was a member and past president of the Polish-American Club of Central Jersey, member of the Polish Business and Professional Men’s Club of Trenton, the American Legion, North Trenton Post 458, the Catholic War Veteran’s, Holy Cross Post 417 and the BPOE Elks, Trenton Lodge 105. He was also a former firefighter in Lawrence Township.
Son of the late Antoni and Helen Rajewska Sokolowski, brother of the late Joseph A. Sokolowski and Frances Patykula; he is survived by his wife of 55 years, Evelyn Kovacs Sokolowski of Lawrenceville; his daughter and son-in-law, Dr. Gail Sokolowski Thornton and Dr. Eric Thornton of Chester; his sister-in-law, Sophie Sokolowski of Lawrenceville; one nephew and his wife, Joseph and Magda Sokolowski; three nieces and their husbands, Helen and Bill Giovannetti, Kathy and Jack Olah and Josephine and Octavious LaCross.
The Funeral was Saturday from the Winowicz Funeral Chapel, 865 Brunswick Ave.
Funeral Liturgy was celebrated Saturday in St. Hedwig’s Church.
Burial was in St. Hedwig’s Cemetery, Ewing Township.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Hedwig’s Church, 872 Brunswick Ave., Trenton, NJ 08638.
Edmund Megna
Edmund Robert Megna, 83, died Dec. 23 in the Hospice of Palm Beach County, Fla.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he had resided in Lawrenceville and moved to North Palm Beach last year.
He was a 1942 graduate of Manhattan College.
Mr. Megna taught French at The Lawrenceville School for 39 years. He served as the varsity basketball coach and director of The Lawrenceville School Camp. While coaching the school basketball team, he was selected once as the all-state coach of the year. Mr. Megna was inducted into The Lawrenceville School Hall of Fame for his achievements in basketball.
Mr. Megna retired from the Lawrenceville School in 1985. He and his wife moved to France where he took a position teaching English and coaching basketball at St. Genevieve School in Versailles for two years. He then moved to Cannes and tutored English before returning to Lawrenceville. He was a communicant of the Church of St. Ann in Lawrenceville and St. Clare Catholic Church in North Palm Beach.
Son of the late Anthony and Dorina Megna, he is survived by his wife of 58 years, Patricia Reynolds Megna; four sons and daughters-in-law, Dee and Phoebe Megna of Darien, Conn., Ronald and Ann Megna of Napersville, Ill., Thomas and Lee Megna of Redding, Conn., and Luke Megna, Md., and his wife Jean of Kennewick, Wash.; and eight grandchildren.
The Funeral was Monday from Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Directors, 650 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in the Church of St. Ann, Lawrenceville.
Burial was in the Lawrenceville Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to The Lawrenceville School Camp, C/O David E. Schorr, 17 Van Kirk Road, Princeton, NJ 08540.
John Davis
John W. Davis Jr., 85, died Dec. 25 in Memorial Hospital of Salem County.
Mr. Davis, born in Trenton and raised in Lawrenceville, was the son of the late J. Warren Davis, a judge of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Marguerite Gay Davis of Salem.
He was a graduate of Lawrenceville School where he excelled in baseball and a 1941 graduate of Bucknell University, where he made the all-east soccer team and was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.
In 1956, he was elected to the New Jersey State General Assembly and served until 1968. He was named Democratic Majority Leader in 1961 and Speaker of the House in 1962, during which year, he served briefly as acting governor. Among the bills he co-sponsored in the Assembly was the bill authorizing "Garden State" to be imprinted on New Jersey license plates in 1957.
After 12 years in the Legislature, he was appointed to numerous positions in the Office of Fiscal Affairs in Trenton, culminating in his appointment as director of Legislative Services, from which he retired in 1981. Thereafter, he traveled extensively with his companion, Elizabeth W. Smith of Woodstown.
Mr. Davis was married for 38 years to Janet Cook Davis, who died in 1980.
Surviving are his daughter, Mary Anne Baker; his son John W. Davis III and wife Paula, all of Pennsville; his granddaughter, Laura Harmer Brown and her husband Tim of Danielsville, Pa.; his grandson, J.W. Davis IV of Los Angeles, Calif.; and two great-grandchildren, Michael and Rachel Brown; his brother, Robert M. Davis and wife Dorothy of Newtown, Pa.
In addition to his parents and his wife, he was predeceased by his sister, Mary Davis Firestone.
Services were Monday in Memorial Baptist Church, where friends may call one hour prior.
Burial was in Lawnside Cemetery, Woodstown.
The family suggests contributions to the Memorial Baptist Church, 212 East Broadway, Salem, NJ 08079.
Mary Robinson
Mary Robinson died Dec. 24 at Capital Health Systems at Fuld.
Born in Raritan, she was a resident of Lawrenceville for over 60 years.
She retired from the food services organization at the University Medical Center at Princeton.
She was a member of the Lawrence Township Senior Citizens Club 2 and the Church of St. Ann.
Daughter of the late Dominic and Leonilda Ciacci Gabbianelli, wife of the late Arthur Robinson and mother of the late Barbara Robinson Sabo; she is survived by her brother and sister-in-law, Richard and Mary Gabinelli of Dunellen; one niece, Sandra and her husband Bill Schultheis of Safety Harbor, Fla.; two nephews and their wives, Steve and Donna Gabinelli of Whitehouse Station and John and Linda Gabinelli of East Brunswick; and a friend, Helen Corboy.
A Mass of Christian Burial was Tuesday from the Church of St. Ann in Lawrenceville.
Burial followed in the Princeton Memorial Park in Washington Township.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Church of St. Ann, 1253 Lawrence Rd., Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, or the Pet Rescue of Mercer, PO Box 2574, Hamilton, NJ 08690.
Arrangements were under the direction of Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Directors, Lawrenceville.
Robert McLaughlin
Robert J. McLaughlin, 82, died Dec. 25 at St. Mary’s Medical Center, Langhorne, Pa.
Born in Trenton, he was a lifelong area resident. Mr. McLaughlin was a pipe fitter for U.S. Steel-Trenton Works retiring in 1982 over 40 years of service.
He was a graduate of Trenton Catholic High School, class of 1938, and an avid reader who had a great interest in World War II history.
Mr. McLaughlin was a World War II U.S. Navy Veteran serving in the Pacific Theatre.
Son of the late James G. and Jane Gill McLaughlin, husband of the late Rosemarie K. McLaughlin and brother of the late Stanley McLaughlin; he is survived by his son, R. Brian McLaughlin of Lawrenceville; his sister, Loretta M. Kulick of Forked River; two nephews and three nieces, William McLaughlin of California, James McLaughlin, Kathleen Watt, Mary Woodard and Claire Stewart, all of Syracuse, N.Y.; and great-nieces and nephews.
Mass of Christian Burial was Tuesday at St. Anthony’s Church, 626 S. Olden Ave.
Burial was in Greenwood Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the U.S.O. World Headquarters, Department WS, P.O. Box 96860, Washington, DC 20090-6860.
Charles Castranova
Charles John Castranova, formerly of Lawrenceville, died Dec. 23 in Jacksonville, Fla.
Born in Texas, he resided in Lawrenceville most of his life until moving to Florida six years ago.
He was a retired U.S. Government employee and worked as a mechanic at Ft. Dix Army Base.
He was an avid golfer and a charter member of The Lawrenceville School Golf Club.
Mr. Castranova attended the Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church and was a member of the Lawrence Township Senior Citizens Club 1.
Son of the late Giuseppe and Carolyn Lipoma Castranova, husband of 56 years to the late Marcia Lenox Castranova, and brother of the late Sebastian and Joseph Castranova and Mary Amorosa, he is survived by two daughters and sons-in-law, Marcia and Bill Anderson of Jacksonville, Fla., and Linda and Jack Bowser of Brockport, N.Y.
Also surviving are two grandchildren Trista Anderson Wallace and her husband Jay and Jaclyn Bowser and a brother Samuel Castranova.
The funeral will be held Friday at 11 a.m. at Poulson and Van Hise Funeral Home, at 650 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville, with the Rev. Nina Peck-Reeder, pastor of the Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church, officiating.
Entombment will be in the Greenwood Cemetery Mausoleum in Hamilton.
Friends may call on Friday from 10-11 a.m.
Robert Clancy
Robert E. Clancy, 76, died Dec. 25 at home.
Born in Chicago, he received his secondary education in Roselle and was a Princeton resident over 40 years before moving to Plainsboro.
A businessman with a diverse range of interests, he worked in the insurance industry, co-founded one of the area’s first computer stores, owned a real estate company and was a housing developer.
His main business activity was a financial consulting practice for both individuals and corporations, foreign and domestic, in partnership with Sam Woodworth.
After receiving his degree from Princeton University in 1948 and serving as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and the Korean War, he spent more than 25 years in the insurance industry as a general agent for the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. in New York City.
He was recognized nationally as a leader in the development of executive compensation programs and employee benefit plans.
He was president of the General Agents and Managers Conference of the City of New York and president of Massachusetts General Agents Association and earned the charted life underwriter (CLU) and charted financial consultant (ChFC) designations from the American College.
In 1981, he co-founded with Glenn Paul, Clancy-Paul, Inc., a microcomputer sales and service company that grew to seven locations in New Jersey. The company was acquired by Inacorn in 1988.
He was a partner in P.M.R.C. Inc., developer of Academy Court, a condominium project in Pennington.
He was also the owner of Clancy Realty Co.
Mr. Clancy was a member of the Governor’s Small Business Advisory Council and in 1989 was inducted into the Mercer County Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame.
He served as president of the Princeton University Class of 1948, Princeton Club of New York and Princeton Area Alumni Association. He also served on the Council of the Princeton University Community and the advisory committee to the Center for Study of Religion.
Mr. Clancy served as chairman of the board of American Red Cross of Central New Jersey and president of the Council of Community Services.
He was a board member of the Medical Center at Princeton, Eden Family of Services, United Way of Mercer County and NCJJ National Conference of Community and Justice.
He was the recipient of the Edward and Irene D. Farley Community Service Award, Clara Barton Award from the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey and the Humanitarian Award from NCJJ.
Husband of the late Catherine and Barbara, father of the late Kevin and Colleen, he is survived by daughter Kerry DeYoung of Gainsville, Fla.; sons and daughters-in-law Brian A. and Susan Clancy of Newton, Mass., and Sean E. and Paula Clancy of Lawrence Township; seven grandchildren; and dear friend Chris Downey of Winnetka, Ill.
Mass of Christian Burial was Tuesday at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 376 Burnt Hill Road, Montgomery.
Burial was in the family plot in Princeton Cemetery, Princeton.
Memorial contributions may be made to University Medical Center Foundation at Princeton, 353 Witherspoon St., Princeton, NJ 08540 or American Red Cross, 707 Alexander Road, Princeton, NJ 08540 or The Eden Institute Foundation, 1 Eden Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540.
Arrangements were by Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.
