Clifford Geertz, Barbara L. Sutton, Dr. Lloyd J. Nimaroff, William E. Speers Jr.
Clifford Geertz
Cultural anthropologist at Institute
Clifford Geertz of Princeton, an eminent scholar in the field of cultural anthropology known for his extensive research in Indonesia and Morocco, died Tuesday following heart surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He was 80.
Dr. Geertz was professor emeritus in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, where he served on the faculty since 1970. Dr. Geertz’s appointment marked the initiation of the School of Social Science, which in 1973 formally became the fourth school at the Institute.
Dr. Geertz’s contributions to social and cultural theory have been described as influential not only among anthropologists, but also among geographers, ecologists, political scientists, humanists and historians. He worked on religion, especially Islam, bazaar trade, economic development, traditional political structures and village and family life.
A prolific author since the 1950s, Dr. Geertz’s many books include "The Religion of Java" (1960); "Islam Observed: Religious Development in Morocco and Indonesia" (1968); "The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays" (1973, 2000); "Negara: The Theatre State in Nineteenth Century Bali" (1980); and "The Politics of Culture, Asian Identities in a Splintered World" (2002). At the time of his death, he was working on the general question of ethnic diversity and its implications in the modern world.
Peter Goddard, director of the Institute for Advanced Study, said, "Clifford Geertz was one of the major intellectual figures of the 20th century whose presence at the institute played a crucial role in its development and in determining its present shape. He remained a vital force, contributing to the life of the institute right up to his death. We have all lost a much-loved friend."
Born in San Francisco, he served in the Navy from 1943 through 1945 and studied under the GI Bill at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he majored in English.
His internship as a copyboy for The New York Post dissuaded him from becoming a newspaperman and he switched to philosophy, graduating from Antioch in 1950. He went on to study anthropology at Harvard University and received a doctorate in 1956.
He was one of five anthropologists assigned to the Modjokuto Project in Indonesia, sponsored by the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the earliest efforts to send a team of anthropologists to study large-scale societies with written histories, established governments and composite cultures.
Dr. Geertz began his academic career in 1952 as a research assistant and in 1957 and 1958 as a research associate in the Center for International Studies at MIT, and also served as an instructor in social relations and as a research associate in Harvard University’s Laboratory of Social Relations in 1956 and 1957. In 1958 and 1959, he was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, Calif.
From 1958 to 1960, he was assistant professor of anthropology at the University of California at Berkeley, then transferred to the University of Chicago where he became a full professor in 1964. He was later named divisional professor in the social sciences (1968-70) and held a number of related posts. He was also a senior research career fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health from 1964 to 1970.
Consultant to the Ford Foundation on Social Sciences in Indonesia in 1971, he was Eastman Professor at Oxford University from 1978 to 1979, and held an appointment as visiting lecturer with rank of professor in the Department of History at Princeton University from 1975 to 2000.
In 1970, Dr. Geertz joined the permanent faculty of the School of Social Science at the institute, and was named Harold F. Linder Professor of Social Science in 1982. He transferred to emeritus status in 2000.
He received the National Book Critics Circle Prize in Criticism in 1988 for "Works and Lives: The Anthropologist as Author." He received honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale and Princeton universities, from Antioch, Swarthmore and Williams colleges, and from the University of Cambridge, among other institutions.
Dr. Geertz was a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books.
His fieldwork was concentrated in Java, Bali, Celebes and Sumatra in Indonesia, as well as in Morocco.
Dr. Geertz is survived by his wife, Dr. Karen Blu, an anthropologist retired from the Department of Anthropology at New York University; daughter Erika Reading of Princeton; son Benjamin Geertz of Kirkland, Wash.; and grandchildren Andrea and Elena Martinez of Princeton. He is also survived by his former wife, Dr. Hildred Geertz, professor emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at Princeton University.
Details of a memorial to be held at the Institute for Advanced Study will be announced at a future date.
Barbara L. Sutton
Associate director at university
PENNINGTON Barbara Lee Raterink Sutton died Wednesday at University Medical Center at Princeton. She was 52.
Born in Mount Pleasant, Mich., she was a former Princeton resident, moving to Pennington last year.
An employee of Princeton University since 1986, she most recently was associate director of the Office of Population Research.
In 1998, she received an award from the President’s Standing Committee on the Status of Women for being an individual who made a difference in the lives of women on the campus. She was a member of the Princeton University Academic Managers Group.
She was a graduate of Hope College, Holland, Mich.
Ms. Sutton is survived by sons Kyle Sutton of Jersey City and Benjamin Sutton of Hamilton; parents Bernie and Ester Raterink of Hudsonville, Mich.; brother and sister-in-law Michael and Karen Raterink of Sarasota, Fla.; and her partner, Michael Seifert of Pennington.
A memorial service will be held 9 a.m. Monday at Princeton University Chapel.
Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice. She was a contributor to Amnesty International.
Arrangements are by Selover Funeral Home, North Brunswick.
Dr. Lloyd J. Nimaroff
Daughter lives in Princeton
BOCA RATON, Fla. Dr. Lloyd Joel Nimaroff died Tuesday at home. He was 83.
Born in Newark, he was a former Kenilworth resident.
He was a dentist in Kenilworth for 35 years before retiring.
Dr. Nimaroff was a graduate of New York University and Temple University School of Dentistry.
He was a Navy veteran of the Korean War.
Son of the late Max and Dora Nimaroff, he is survived by his wife, May A. Nimaroff; daughter and son-in-law Robin and Jeffrey Persky of Princeton; son and daughter-in-law Dr. Michael and Carole Nimaroff of Great Neck, N.Y.; nine grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.
The funeral was Wednesday.
Memorial contributions may be made to The Jewish Center, 435 Nassau St., Princeton, NJ 08540 or Young Israel of Great Neck, 236 Middle Neck Road, Great Neck, NY 11021.
Arrangements are by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel, Ewing.
William E. Speers Jr.
Wm Sword & Co. executive
HIGHTSTOWN William Ewing Speers Jr. died in his sleep of cancer Tuesday at Meadow Lakes. He was 82.
A former Princeton resident, he was vice president, treasurer and chief administrative officer of Wm Sword & Co. of Princeton, retiring in 1990 after 15 years.
Born in Montclair, he was educated in Montclair and at South Kent School in South Kent, Conn. He graduated from Princeton University with a degree in civil engineering with the class of 1945, having accelerated to accept a commission in the 143rd KCB "Seabees" of the Navy. He served in the Pacific until the close of World War II, when he returned to follow his father and grandfather in the family business, McCutcheons, formerly at Fifth Avenue and 49th Street in New York City.
Upon the sale of McCutcheons, Mr. Speers moved with his family to Princeton and joined the Tabulating Card Co., later Business Supplies Corp. of America, an early computer supplies manufacturer, where he served as executive vice president.
From 1968 to 1975, he lived in Lancaster, Pa., and served as executive director of the Pennsylvania Educational Assistance Authority, a pilot program to provide state funding to private schools.
In 1975, Mr. Speers joined the new investment banking firm Wm Sword & Co., beginning his 15-year career there.
Mr. Speers was active in charitable and volunteer work, serving the YMCA as a trustee of Camp Speers, named for his grandfather, in Dingmans Ferry, Pa., and of Frost Valley YMCA in Claryville, N.Y. He also served on the boards of the Chocorua Island Chapel in Holderness, N.H., and Trinity Counseling in Princeton.
During his retirement, he remained active in Princeton for 15 years before moving with his wife to Meadow Lakes in 2005.
He was a member of Trinity Church and the Nassau Club. His interests included education, the outdoors, old canals and crew racing.
Son of the late William E. and Helen Barrett Speers, he is survived by his wife of 59 years, Eleanor Schroeder Speers; his daughter, the Rev. Mary B. Speers of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and son John G. Speers of Paris.
A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Thursday at Trinity Church, 33 Mercer St., Princeton.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to South Kent School, 40 Bull’s Ridge Road, South Kent, CT 06785.
Arrangements are by Kimble Funeral Home, Princeton.

