Christopher Lahoda
Christopher J. Lahoda, of Lawrence, died Saturday at home from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 47.
Mr. Lahoda grew up in Port Reading. An Eagle Scout, he earned a bachelors degree in accounting from Northeastern University and an MBA in finance from New York University. He worked for American Express, First Fidelity Bank, and UJB/Summit Bank. At Summit, where he was a senior vice president.
In 2001, Mr. Lahoda founded GrowthQuest Management Training LLC, of Princeton. Considered an innovator in the training field, he taught leadership skills to thousands of executives, managers, and salespeople. He was the author of many business-related articles and commentaries.
Mr. Lahoda was active in the community. He served on the board of the Lawrence Historical Society, where he coordinated an archeological dig for 300 middle school students each year. He was a past chair of the endowment committee at the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing, where he also served as a religious education teacher. Always interested in celebrating New Jersey’s history, he proposed establishing a marathon that would cover George Washington’s route from Washington Crossing to Trenton and Princeton. He had also begun a project to enlist well-known authors to write short stories for an anthology about the battles of Trenton and Princeton.
Mr. Lahoda wrote frequent letters to his elected representatives in support of tolerance, the environment, education, and fiscal responsibility. The first of his many letters to newspaper editors was published when he was a teenager, and his letters appeared in local and national newspapers and magazines.
His historical novel, "Burning Answers," was published in 2006.
Mr. Lahoda is survived by his wife, Janet Hubbard; their two daughters, Alice and Helen; his parents, John and Louise Lahoda, of Port Reading; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Edward and Mimi, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Stanley and Linda, of Piscataway; and five nephews and a niece.
Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 13 at the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing, 268 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, Hopewell Township.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the ALS Association, 321 Norristown Road, Suite 260, Ambler, PA 19002.
William Ragolia Sr.
William E. Ragolia Sr. died Dec. 3 at Capital Health System’s Fuld Campus. He was 91.
Born in Lawrence, he was a lifelong Trenton-Lawrence resident.
Mr. Ragolia was an executive for General Motors in Ewing, during which time he served as a critical defense specialist throughout World War II. He retired after over 40 years with the company. He was a graduate of Cathedral High School class of 1933, graduate of Syracuse University class of 1937 where he received a degree in engineering and finance. He was an active member of The Church of Saint Ann, where he attended daily mass.
Son of the late Joseph and Salvatrice Giluffo Ragolia, husband of the late Dorothy Trauger Ragolia and husband of 49 years to the late Elizabeth Sawyer Ragolia, he is survived by his six children, Bill Ragolia and his wife, Monica, of Red Bank; Betty Jo Lucas and her husband, George, of Clearwater, Fla.; Rosemary Forczek and her husband, Bob, of Clearwater, Fla.; Bob Ragolia and his wife, Beth, of Pennington; Mark Ragolia, of Grafton, Mass.; and Regina Ratzlaff and her husband, Peter, of Hamilton; 13 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; one brother, Col. Joseph Ragolia and his wife, Dorothy, of Stewart, Fla.; one sister, Josephine Owens, of Lawrence and Sea Girt; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Funeral was held Dec. 7 at the M. William Murphy Funeral Home, Ewing. Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at The Church of Saint Ann, Lawrence. Burial was in St. Ignatius Cemetery, Yardley, Pa.
Memorial contributions may be made to The Church of Saint Ann, 1253 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 or to Catholic Campus Ministry of Rider University, 2116 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648.
Dorothy Asay
Dorothy E. Asay, of Lawrence, died Dec. 6 at the Royal Health Gate Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Lawrence. She was 87.
Born in Trenton, she was a resident of Lawrence her entire life.
Mrs. Asay retired in 1981 after 32 years of service with the Sterling Drug Company, Trenton.
Daughter of the late James and Minnie Schultz Nevins and wife of the late Charles K. Asay, she is survived by her three sisters, Opal Adams, Ruth Raywood and Joan Costigan and her husband, Carey, all of Lawrence; a brother, Earl Nevins, of Lawrence; her nieces and nephews, Jay Raywood, Frank Adams, Jeff Adams, Nancy Brushe, Susan Brennen, Kathy Titus and Jill Costigan; also surviving are many great-nieces and great nephews.
Private family services were held. Entombment followed in Princeton Memorial Park Mausoleum, Robbinsville.
Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.
Bessie Flamer
Bessie V. Flamer died Sunday at home. She was 82.
Born in Cassett, S.C., Mrs. Flamer lived in the Lawrence area for over 50 years.
Daughter of the late Monroe and Carrie Perkins, and wife of the late Herbert J. Flamer Sr., she retired from Educational Testing Service (ETS) after 19 years. She was an active participant in programs at the Lawrence Senior Center.
Mrs. Flamer is survived by her daughter, Carrie Loizeau, and grandson Raymond Worrell, of Lawrence; son Herbert J. Flamer and daughter-in-law Mary, of New Hope, Pa.; and granddaughter Ginneh, of Philadelphia, Pa. She also is survived by goddaughter Robin Hall, of Ewing. Ms. Flamer also leaves a family of nieces, nephews and cousins in Mercer County and South Carolina.
Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15 at St. John’s Baptist Church, 70 Oregon Ave., Ewing. Calling hours will be 11 a.m. until time of service at the church. Interment will be in Ewing Cemetery.
Andrew Hansell
EASTON, Pa. Andrew L. Hansell, of Easton, Pa., died Dec. 2 at home. He was 31.
Born in Trenton, Mr. Hansell was a resident of Lawrence most of his life and most recently a resident of Easton, Pa. for the last year.
He graduated from Lawrence High School, class of 1993 and was currently an apprentice electrician with Local 102 I.B.E.W. in Parsippany.
Son of the late Doris Carlene Baker Hansell, he is survived by his father, John M. Hansell, of Aiken, S.C. and his brother, Timothy B. Hansell, of Los Angeles, Calif.
Memorial services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6 at the Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church, 1039 Lawrence Road. Entombment will follow in Ewing Cemetery.
Friends may call from noon until time of services Jan. 6 at the church.
Memorial contributions may be made to Freedom House, P.O. Box 367, Glen Gardner, NJ 08826 (the [email protected]) or to the charity of the donor’s choice.
Sophie Gorski
TRENTON Sophie D. Gorski died Sunday at Capital Health System’s Fuld Campus. She was 78.
Born in Trenton, Ms. Gorski was a lifelong Trenton resident.
She retired in 1992 after 24 years with the New Hope Crushed Stone & Lime Company, in Pennington. She was a member of the Catholic War Veterans, Holy Cross Post 417, Ladies Auxiliary, the Lawrence Senior Club No. 1 and the Trenton Polish-American Democratic Club, Ladies Auxiliary. She was a former member of the St. Hedwig’s Rosarians.
Daughter of the late Boleslaw and Czeslawa Sliwinski Gorski, sister of the late Stella Fisher, Lillian Cook, Anna Gorski, John Gorski Sr. and Alex Gorski Sr., she is survived by two sisters-in-law, Stephanie T. Gorski and Florence A. Gorski, both of Lawrence; five nephews, Erwin Cook, William Cook, John Gorski Jr., James Gorski and Alex Gorski Jr.; four nieces, Janet Suozzo, Stephanie Nutter, Dolores Wojcik and Heidi Cook; and several grandnieces and grandnephews.
The funeral will be held at 11:30 a.m. today at Winowicz Funeral Chapel, 865 Brunswick Ave., Trenton. Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated at noon in St. Hedwig’s Church. Burial will be in St. Hedwig’s Cemetery, Ewing. Calling hours will be from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. today at the funeral chapel.
Memorial donations are to be made to the donor’s choice.

