Alice Osborn Breese, Dudley A. Saville, Anna Didonato, Donald Dustin
Alice Osborn Breese
Headed historical society
HIGHTSTOWN Alice Osborn Breese died Sept. 30. She was 86.
Born in New York City, she was a resident of New Hampshire, Washington, D.C., and Hartford, Conn., before moving to Princeton in 1964, where she lived before moving to Meadow Lakes in Hightstown in 1992.
Mrs. Breese was a private school English teacher and a former librarian at Princeton High School.
She was named executive director of the Historical Society of Princeton in 1977. During her three years at the helm, she greatly professionalized the organization, with a strong emphasis on publications and new sources of funds. It was during her tenure that the Bainbridge House museum became accredited. She later served as board president and, in 2003, she was formally honored by the society for outstanding contributions to local history and preservation.
Mrs. Breese was the widow of Gerald Breese, professor of sociology and urban planning at Princeton University. She was formerly married to Newell Brown, director of career and study services at Princeton University and assistant secretary of labor during the Eisenhower administration. Following the end of her first marriage, she married Professor Breese in 1980.
Raised in New York City, she attended Chapin and Brearley schools and graduated from Vassar College in 1941. As senior class president, she introduced Eleanor Roosevelt as the commencement speaker. She remained very active in supporting her alma mater throughout her life.
While raising her five children, Mrs. Breese taught English history at the Potomac School in Washington, and later received a master’s degree from Rutgers University in library science.
Mrs. Breese was an avid skier and tennis player, and was very active in the civic affairs of every community she lived in.
She was the daughter of Margaret Schieffelin Osborn and Frederick H. Osborn. On her mother’s side, she was directly descended from John Jay and Cornelius Vanderbilt. Her paternal great-grandfather, William Henry Osborn, was president of the Illinois Central Railway in the mid-19th century and employed Abraham Lincoln as an attorney in the 1850s. Her grandfather, William Church Osborn, was a businessman, philanthropist and president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mrs. Breese’s father, Gen. Frederick H. Osborn, directed the Information and Morale branch of the armed services in World War II. He later served on the Atomic Energy Commission and helped found the Population Council.
Many members of Mrs. Breese’s family attended Princeton University and, as benefactors, donated Dodge Osborn Hall and the Osborn Field House, later renamed Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding.
Mrs. Breese is survived by her five children, Rosalind McClellan of Boulder, Colo., Alice Spencer of Portland, Maine, Robinson O. Brown of San Francisco, Christopher Brown of Washington, D.C., and Hilary Brown of Princeton; stepchildren Adele Overmeyer of Arlington, Va., James Breese Jr. of Denver, Brinda B. Wederich of Montgomery Township and Dana Breese of Denver; seven grandchildren; and nine stepgrandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Historical Society of Princeton, 158 Nassau St., Princeton, NJ 08542.
An open memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, at the Marquand Chapel within the Princeton University Chapel, Princeton University.
Dudley A. Saville
Chemical engineering professor
Dudley Albert Saville of Princeton died Wednesday at home. He was 73.
He was the Stephen MacAleer ’63 Professor of Chemical Engineering at Princeton University and a member of the Princeton Materials Institute.
Born in Lincoln, Neb., he received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Nebraska in 1954.
He served as an Air Force pilot from 1956 to 1958, flying jets in South Korea after the Korean War and then served as the radar intercept instructor at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.
He then returned to the University of Nebraska, where he earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering.
Following his marriage in 1959, he moved to California, where he worked for Shell Oil Co. He then returned to school, earning a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan.
He was named assistant professor of chemical engineering at Princeton in 1968. His research centered on fluid dynamics and electrohydrodynamics. In fluid dynamics, his work focused on understanding how electric fields can be used to manipulate flow, including an experiment on the stability of liquid bridges on the space shuttle Columbia in 1996.
In addition to numerous scientific papers, he co-authored two books, one on colloidal dispersions, the other on electrophoretic separations.
In 1997, he was awarded the Alpha Chi Sigma Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
He was named Stephen C. MacAleer ’63 professor of chemical engineering and applied science in 2001.
In 2003, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for advancing understanding of electrokinetic and electrohydrodynamic processes and their application to the assembly of colloidal arrays.
He was an active member of Nassau Presbyterian Church and was ordained as an elder in 1968.
In his spare time, he enjoyed flying sailplanes, sailing and gardening.
He was a regular marshal for the principals at Princeton University commencement exercises.
Son of the late George A. Saville and Edith A. Goddard, he is survived by his wife, Joy Wagner Saville of Princeton; son and daughter-in-law Alex Saville and Amy Jacob of Highland Park; daughter and son-in-law Andrea S. and Stephen White of Princeton; sister Harriet Potter of Lincoln, Neb.; and grandson Aidan S. White of Princeton.
A memorial service will be held 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Nassau Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau St., Princeton.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton, Nassau Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau St., Princeton, NJ 08542 or American Cancer Society, PO Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718.
Anna Didonato
Former Princeton resident
ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. Anna Didonato died Tuesday. She was 95.
Born in West Trenton, she lived most of her life in Princeton, moving to Essex Junction in 1988.
She was a skilled seamstress and later trained as an artist, specializing in still life and landscape painting.
She was known for her support and care of family members, her culinary skills and hospitality.
She was a member and officer of the Catholic Daughters in Princeton and in Vermont visited St. Anne’s Shrine, her patron saint, in Isle La Motte, Vt. She enjoyed traveling in Vermont and the surrounding region.
During her final years, she received care and support from the staff of Green Mountain Nursing Home, Colchester, Vt.
Daughter of the late Carlo and Angelina Delmonico, wife of the late John Didonato, who died in 1983, mother of the late Gilda, who died in 1968, sister of the late Margaret, Hortense, Edith, May, Helen and Frank Delmonico, she is survived by her sister, Amelia Zocchi of Egg Harbor; grandchildren Wendy J. Ross of Essex Junction, Betsy Jamison of Chicago, Susan Faehl of Fayetteville, Pa.; and Jaclyn Fink of Los Angeles; great-grandchildren Kathryn and Evan Ross, Shaun Jamison, Steven Faehl, Lilli Kay Fink, Elizabeth Lamoreaux and John Lanphear; great-great granddaughter Sally Anne Lamoreaux; and many nieces and nephews.
A gathering will be held 10 a.m. and a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, 214 Nassau St., Princeton.
Burial will be in the parish cemetery.
Arrangements are by Kimble Funeral Home, Princeton.
Donald Dustin
Prudential executive
Donald Dustin of Princeton died Monday at home. He was 82.
He was a 37-year employee of the Prudential Insurance Co., retiring in 1986.
Born in Topeka, Kan., he graduated from Topeka High School and attended Yale University on a scholarship, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in economics.
He served on active duty in the Navy Reserve during World War II and again during the Korean War.
He worked in Japan as a civilian employee of the U.S. government from 1946 to 1948.
He was hired by Prudential as a management trainee in 1949. During his career there, he served in various departments of the company’s corporate office including comptroller’s, planning and development, operations analysis and research, and personnel. In 1978, he became vice president of the Diversified Operations Unit and subsequently was seconded to the Sony-Prudential Life Insurance Co., where he served as representative director from 1979 to 1981.
He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Elizabeth; daughter Suzanne; and son and daughter-in-law Kurt and Gayl.
A memorial service was held Thursday at Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.
Memorial contributions may be made to Princeton Hospice, 208 Bunn Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540.

