William J. Noonan, Cay C. Mohrman, Elsie Davies, Jeanne R. Swanton, Peter J. Manzi
William J. Noonan
Retired Merrill Lynch partner
William J. Noonan of Princeton died Monday at his second home in California. He was 80.
Mr. Noonan was a retired partner at Merrill Lynch where he was known as an accomplished writer and public speaker. He most recently managed offices in the Southwest and retired in 1991.
Mr. Noonan was involved in a wide range of public service work in Princeton, most notably with the Eden Family of Services and Hands Together, as well as the American Red Cross.
He was an Eden trustee for approximately 10 years and served as chairman of the board of the organization, which aids autistic persons. When founding director David L. Holmes retired in 2004, Mr. Noonan assumed the post of acting executive director until a permanent director was hired. Eden’s Rocky Hill group home is named Noonan House in his honor.
He was chairman of the board of Hands Together, a charity that focuses on programs to aid the poor, primarily in Haiti. He served there as a lay missionary.
He was vice chairman of the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey, a council member of the Friends of Princeton Public Library, a board member of Young Audiences of New Jersey and a former president of the Nassau Club.
Born in St. Louis, he joined the Marine Corps after graduating from high school in 1943. He attended Officer Candidate School and the Armed Forces Psychological Warfare School and served as an infantryman in the South Pacific in World War II, attaining the rank of captain.
After the war, he returned to school and attended Louisiana Tech and St. Louis University Law School. After graduation in 1948, he worked as a newspaper reporter for the St. Louis Star-Times and radio newscaster for radio station KXOK. He returned to duty in 1950 as an Officer Candidate School instructor during the Korean War.
Mr. Noonan joined Merrill Lynch as an account executive in the St. Louis office in 1952. In 1962, he was named manager of the office in Waco, Texas.
From 1962 to 1975, Mr. Noonan held a succession of office management positions that included multiple relocations. He left Waco in 1964 to manage the Detroit office. In 1966, he was appointed manager of the Management Training Department. He went on to serve as a liaison officer for the West Coast in 1968 before returning to manage the Detroit office in 1969. Mr. Noonan came back to Texas, when he was named Southwest regional director in 1975.
He was named to the newly created position of resident executive in 1985 before retiring in 1991.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Dorothy Butz Haberstroh.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated 11 a.m. Monday at St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, 214 Nassau St., Princeton.
A viewing will be held 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Ave., Princeton.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Red Cross, Hands Together, Eden Family of Services or Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart.
Cay C. Mohrman
Interior decorator, gallery owner
DUXBURY, Mass. Cay Cummings Mohrman died March 21 at Jordan Hospital, Plymouth, Mass. She was 81.
Born in Bay City, Mich., she was a resident of Princeton from 1956 to 2005, when she moved to Duxbury.
An interior decorator for many years, she had an interior decorating business in Princeton. In addition, she was an interior decorator with Nassau Interiors and the Tomato Factory in Hopewell.
She was an owner of Gallery 100, a former Nassau Street art gallery, for many years and a manager at the Princeton Gift Shop and the Cummings Shop. She also was a part owner of the High Button Shoe in Hopewell.
She decorated the Honeymoon Lodge at Monticello in Charlottesville, Va.
She was a docent at Morven Museum and Garden in Princeton, and was also a founding member of the Princeton Chemistry Club and a longstanding member of the Maine Chance Group.
She is survived by sons and daughters-in-law Brooks Mohrman of San Francisco and Mexico City, Mace Mohrman and Ann Barry of Southampton, N.Y., and Morgan and Ashley Mohrman of Duxbury, Mass.; daughter and son-in-law Darby and Stephen O’Neill of Montgomery Township; and grandchildren Devin and Morgan O’Neill of Montgomery and Clay and Chase Mohrman of Duxbury, Mass.
A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. Friday, May 5, at Trinity Church, 33 Mercer St., Princeton, with a reception immediately following at the Nassau Club.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Morven Museum and Garden, 55 Stockton St., Princeton, NJ 08540.
Elsie Davies
Princeton resident
Elsie "Mam" Davies of Princeton died Monday at University Medical Center at Princeton. She was 93.
Born in Wales, she resided in the Princeton area over 20 years.
Wife of the late John Bowen Davies, she is survived by sons and daughters-in-law Bram and Louisa Davies of Cranbury, and John and Delyth and Arwyn and Anne Davies, all of Wales; grandchildren Esther, James, Stuart, Jeraint, Non, Paul and Darren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
Arrangements were by Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.
Jeanne R. Swanton
Retired teacher
MONTGOMERY Jeanne Ruess Swanton died Feb. 28 at University Medical Center at Princeton of a cerebral hemorrhage. She was 84.
Born in Altoona, Pa., she was a former resident of Redding Ridge, Conn., and Cranbury before recently moving to Montgomery.
A teacher for 30 years beginning in 1958, she held faculty positions in Norwalk and Andrew Warde high schools in Connecticut as well as Fairfield University and the University of Connecticut. She taught chemistry, physics, calculus and other sciences.
She was a graduate of Altoona High School and Pennsylvania State University’s Eberly College of Science, one of two women in her class with a degree in chemistry. After beginning her teaching career, she received master’s degrees in education and chemistry from Fairfield University and Brown University.
Before beginning her teaching career, she lived in New York City while working for M.W. Kellogg Co. during World War II. She then moved to Connecticut where she owned and operated Swanton Press with her husband.
Upon retiring from teaching, she continued her own education, became certified in tax preparation and taught English as a second language.
Daughter of the late George and Lucia Maas Ruess, wife of the late Paul Swanton, sister of the late Lorraine R. Crockett, she is survived by her son, Joel P. Swanton of Holden, Maine; daughter Sandra Kelly of Franklin; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial gathering will be held 4 p.m. Saturday at Stonebridge at Montgomery, 900 Hollinshead Spring Road, Montgomery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made for support of the Eberly College of Science Scholarship Fund with checks made out to Pennsylvania State University, Office of Donor Services, 1 Old Main, University Park, PA 16802.
Arrangements were by Van Arsdale Funeral Home, Somerville.
Peter J. Manzi
Foreman
WEST WINDSOR Peter J. Manzi died Sunday at University Medical Center at Princeton.
Born in New York City, he lived in Garden City, Long Island, for many years before moving to West Windsor six years ago.
Mr. Manzi was a foreman with Bronx Iron & Metals.
He was a stained glass artist.
He is survived by his wife, Anne Lombardi Manzi; daughters and sons-in-law Susan and Ralph Ornelas and Carol and Christopher Sharp; sisters Amy Comforte and Mary Mancini; and grandchildren Kristin and Gabriel Ornelas and William and Amanda Sharp.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 3076 Princeton Pike, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648.
Arrangements were by Saul Colonial Home, Hamilton.

