Samuel Bryant
Samuel Bryant of Lawrence died Saturday. He was 99.
He was born in Robertsville, Jasper County, S.C., where he was educated before moving to Miami.
Later Mr. Bryant and his wife and her daughter moved to Princeton and then to Lawrence.
He was employed at Belle Mead Depot in Somerville and later at The Lawrenceville School, from where he retired.
Mr. Bryant was also a member at the Friendship Baptist Church in Trenton.
He enjoyed landscaping, gardening, listening to the many church services on the radio, bananas, peppermints and Pepsi Cola soda.
Son of the late Issac and Lena Middell Bryant, husband of the late Gertrude Bryant and grandfather of the late Ira L. Sherrod Jr., he is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Bernice and Ira Sherrod of Ewing; granddaughters, Patricia Sherrod of Trenton, Diane Sherrod-McCallum of Ewing and Trude Sherrod-Poland of Lawrence; great-grandsons, Jaret and Kalen McCallum, Braeden Poland and Javier Ray; one sister, Essie Johnson of Harleyville, S.C.; a special nephew, Francis Bryant of Beaufort, S.C.; a host of nieces and nephews; and a special friend, Jimmy Mims of Trenton.
The funeral is 2 p.m. today at the Hughes Funeral Home, 324 Bellevue Ave., Trenton.
Calling hours will be 1 p.m. until time of service at the funeral home.
Burial will be in Fountain Lawn Memorial Park, Ewing.
Olive T. Robbins
Olive T. Robbins died Dec. 14 in the Capital Health System at Fuld. She was 87.
Born in Princeton, she had resided in Lawrence for most of her life.
Ms. Robbins worked for the W.T. Grant Department Store in Trenton. During World War II, she worked for Eastern Aircraft in Ewing.
After the war she worked for the Lawrence school system where she was the head of the cafeteria staff.
She was a life member of the Slackwood Volunteer Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary and life member of the Lawrence Post 3022 Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Daughter of the late Harry and Susie Bohl Bennett, she is survived by her husband, Bert V. Robbins; a son and daughter-in-law, Dale and Kathy Robbins; a granddaughter and her husband, Dawn and Rob Santello; and two great-granddaughters, Katelyn and Haley Santello.
The funeral was Saturday from Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Directors, Lawrence Road.
Burial was in the Greenwood Cemetery, Hamilton.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions in Olive’s memory be made to the Slackwood Volunteer Fire Company, 21 Slack Ave., Lawrenceville, NJ 09848.
Frank Gibson
Frank "Killer" Gibson died Dec. 13 at Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center in Hamilton. He was 78.
A longtime Trenton resident, Mr. Gibson recently moved to Lawrence. He was educated in the Trenton public school system.
Mr. Gibson was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force. He retired from US Fairless Steel Company after many years of service.
He was a member of Macedonia Baptist Church. He was also a member of King David Lodge #15 PHA.
Son of the late Greatheart and Annie Gibson, sister of the late Bertha Dekle and brother of the late John Gibson Sr., he is survived by his wife of 58 years, Ruth Tillary Gibson; four daughters, Connie Clark of Trenton, Valerie Stephen of Conyers, Ga., Deborah Gibson Page of Trenton and Francine Royster of Ewing; six sisters, Lillabelle Legette, Vera Kelley, Gladys Parrish, Mary Benjamin, Helen McRae and Geraldine Parrish; four sisters-in-law, Rosanna Gibson, Anita Townsend, Edith Johnson and Theresa Macklin; one brother-in-law, Arthur Tillary; twelve grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
The funeral was Monday at Macedonia Baptist Church, 1300 Greenwood Ave., Trenton.
Burial was in Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Arneytown.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Diabetes Association. Arrangements are by the Hughes Funeral Home.
Gerald R. Adams
TRENTON Gerald R. Adams died Dec. 14 at the Capital Health System Mercer Campus. He was 72.
Born in Trenton, he was educated in the Trenton public school system and attended Mercer County Community College.
He was a supervisor for more than 40 years at the New Jersey Department of Transportation, where he received many citations for his leadership and dependability. Since 1959, he was the general manager of Adam’s Auto Service Center in Trenton. He retired from the New Jersey National Guards as a staff sergeant after 25 years of service.
He was a member of many fraternal organizations including a master mason of Alpha Lodge No.116 F&AM in East Orange, The Grand Lodge of the State of New Jersey F&AM, 32 and was the first black man in New Jersey to be voted into Shrinedom, Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of Burlington.
Son of the late Harold and Catherine Adams, he is survived by his wife Dorothy Adams; four daughters and three sons-in-law, Andrea and Michael Tyler of Piscataway, Alvina and Steve Hallett of Yardley, Pa., Joan and Arthur Snow, and Vicki Adams of Trenton; three stepdaughters and three stepsons-in-law, Karen and Charles Baylor of Trenton and Windy and Paul Larmonie of East Windsor, and Joanne and Rex Hendricks of Ewing; and two brothers and three sisters-in-law, Clifford and Virginia Adams of Ewing, Paul and Catherine Adams of Lawrence, and Thelma Adams of Trenton.
The funeral was Wednesday at Shiloh Baptist Church, Trenton.
Burial was at Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Arneytown.
Mario D’Antonio
PLAINSBORO Mario Raphael D’Antonio died Dec. 10 at home of pneumonia. He was 79.
Born in Naples, Italy, he emigrated to Trenton at age 6 and grew up behind his father’s barber shop on South Broad Street.
Mr. D’Antonio founded Trenton Textile Manufacturing Co. in 1959, which was Trenton’s largest employer after the Roebling wire works, at one time employing more than 500 people at the Perry Street plant.
Mr. D’Antonio’s East Wind Industries in Dover, Del., and later in Clayton, Del., was the second-largest employer in the state after DuPont. East Wind was a $45 million defense contracting business, supplying the military with equipment.
Mr. D’Antonio was introduced to the business world at an early age. By 12, he was apprenticed to the tailoring department of the English Shop in Princeton. By 14, he was traveling around Mercer County for Philco radios, having earned a certificate in electronics at night while still attending high school.
In 1944, he graduated from Hamilton High School a year early as class valedictorian, so that he could enlist in the Army to serve in World War II. He received the Medal of Good Conduct, the American Theater Ribbon, and the World War II Victory Ribbon.
Under the G.I. Bill, he attended Lehigh University, where he received two degrees in three years, a bachelor of arts in mathematics and a bachelor of science in industrial engineering, graduating in 1950.
In the early 1950s, Mr. D’Antonio taught mathematics at The Lawrenceville School and Trenton Junior College. Mr. D’Antonio was a founding member of Trenton Junior College, which later became Mercer County Community College.
He was the head of Mercer County Improvement Authority and was chairman of the Mercer County Democratic Party in the early 1970s.
Mr. D’Antonio donated liberally to Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Princeton, helping to launch the school. He was a lifelong member of The Aquinas Institute in Princeton, attending Mass regularly.
Mr. D’Antonio served on the American Arbitration Association, settling labor disputes outside of the courts.
He was decorated a cavaliere of the Stella della Solidareta Italiana, named an honorary citizen of the worldwide charity Boys Towns of Italy in Rome, a director of the Boys Club of Trenton, and a recipient of numerous awards for the Cancer Crusade of the New Jersey Division of the American Cancer Society.
He was a director of the Helene Fuld Medical Center in Trenton for decades and a member of the Trenton Country Club.
He was an advanced pilot in the United States Power Squadrons and an active boater all his life.
After retiring, Mr. D’Antonio became an engineering consultant to Genesis Ltd. of Newtown, Pa., advising the company on government contracts and procurement for the American and Iraqi military. His work took him all over Europe and Russia.
Husband of the late Yolanda D’Antonio, he is survived by his partner, Lilian Kaplan; son John of Hopewell Township; daughter and son-in-law Ann D. and Andrew M. Dry of Wassenaar, The Netherlands; and grandchildren John, Natalie and Peter D’Antonio, Harry D. Dry and William D. Dry.
Arrangements were by Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.

