OBITUARIES, March 9, 2007

William C. Baggitt, Benjamin M. Powell, Dr. Lillian B. Tenney, Paul Hilaire, Edwin D. Shaw Jr., Dr. Levon D. Yazujian

William C. Baggitt


Attorney and judge
   
WEST WINDSOR — William C. Baggitt died Thursday. He was 74.
   An attorney, his legal career as a private practitioner spanned 47 years in Princeton.
   He represented the West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education and the Hamilton Township Planning Board for many years. He was also a municipal court judge in Hamilton Township for 10 years.
   Born and raised in Freehold, he was president of his senior class and graduated with honors from Trenton Catholic High School. He was educated at Seton Hall University and Rutgers Law School.
   He was an Army 1st lieutenant serving from 1953 to1956.
   He is survived by his wife Ruth Baggitt; daughter Melissa Scott of Montgomery; sons Brendan of Washington D.C. and William C. of Sydney, Australia; and granddaughters Emily, Abigail and Caroline.
   Funeral arrangements will be coordinated by Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.
Benjamin M. Powell


Recent PHS graduate
   
Benjamin M. Powell died in Rapid City, S.D., on March 2 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident in Murdo, S.D., on Feb. 24. He was 21.
   He was a 2003 graduate of Princeton High School.
   Following graduation, he traveled for a year and a half, working on a horse farm in Ireland, clearing trails in the Redwood National Forest and working at Arcosanti in Arizona.
   He briefly attended Antioch College and returned to Arcosanti where he worked in the foundry making the famous Soleri wind bells and worked on the organic farm.
   He was a musician, avid reader and a devotee of hard work and simple living.
   He was on his way to Maine to begin a career as an organic farmer when he died.
   He is survived by his parents, Susan and Matt Powell, and brother Henry, all of Princeton; friend and companion Sarah Kurzhals of Clinton Township, Mich.; paternal grandmother Ruby Powell of Kettering Ohio; maternal grandparents J. Greer and Betsy McBratney of South Dartmouth, Mass.; aunts and uncles Sarah Powell of SeaTac, Wash., Mike Eustrom of Kansas City, Mo., Ann and Andy Stickney of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Mark and Peggy Gildersleeve of Lexington, Mass., John McBratney of Chardon, Ohio, and Jim and Lea McBratney of Westport Mass.; and many cousins and friends.
   A celebration of his life is scheduled for 1 p.m. March 24 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton.
   An internship in his name has been established at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, Mass. He had a lifelong interest in whales and the museum.
   In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Powell Internship Program, New Bedford Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740-6398.
Dr. Lillian B. Tenney


Psychiatrist
   
Dr. Lillian Baum Tenney of Princeton died Feb. 23 at home. She was 85.
   Born in the Bronx, N.Y., she was a Princeton resident since 1953.
   A psychiatrist, she maintained a private practice in Lawrence Township and also taught and practiced psychiatry at Rutgers University.
   She graduated two years ahead of her class at Walton High School, enrolled in Hunter College for a year, and went on to obtain her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1943. She paid her own way through college by juggling a 40-hour work week split between three different jobs with her academic classes. Prior to medical school she worked as a waitress on Cape Cod and for two years as a medical technician traveling throughout New England.
   She earned her doctor of medicine degree from the University of Rochester in 1949 followed by four residencies at Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital in pediatrics, adult psychiatry, child psychiatry, and obstetrics.
   She moved with her husband to Princeton in 1953 where he taught at Princeton University and then worked as a research physicist at the university’s Plasma Physics Laboratory until his death in 1984.
   Dr. Tenney delayed practicing for 15 years to raise four children with her husband. In 1968, she re-established her board certification and began an extensive private practice specializing in child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry.
   Dr. Tenney was also clinical professor of psychiatry at Rutgers University where she was chief psychiatrist at the Willets Student Health Center for many years. In addition, she was a psychiatrist at Mercer County Child Guidance Clinic, New Jersey Neuropsychiatric Institute in Montgomery and Lawrence Township Public Schools.
   She was often sought as an expert witness in court cases and for many years taught and trained medical students at the Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine and Dentistry in psychiatric interviewing at Princeton House Behavioral Health.
   She maintained an active practice until illness forced her to suspend it in the spring of 2006.
   She was an active member in dozens of peace-based and humanitarian organizations. In the 1960s she and her husband co-founded the Ethical Culture Fellowship of Princeton. She adopted animals throughout her life and enjoyed gardening, cooking, skiing and dancing.
   Wife of the late Frederick H. Tenney, she is survived by her sons and daughter-in-law Steven Tenney and David and Marie-Diane Tenney and Jon Tenney; daughter and son-in-law Susan Tenney Diamond and Hal Diamond; grandchildren Danny, Emerson, Oliver and Genevieve; and step-grandchildren Michael and Allison.
   A memorial service will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, March 17 at the Princeton University Chapel followed by a reception at the Prospect House on the university campus.
   Memorial contributions may be made to Doctors without Borders USA, P.O. Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030.
   Arrangements are by Kimble Funeral Home, Princeton.
Paul Hilaire

Linguist
   
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Paul Hilaire died Feb. 12 at home after a brief illness. He was 80.
   Born in West Paterson, he and his family were Montgomery residents from 1964 to 1998.
   A linguist, he retired from the New Jersey Department of Education.
   A military veteran, he was an active volunteer in the Montgomery Rescue Squad and American Red Cross.
   Son of the late Paul E. Hilaire Sr. and Marie Barra, he is survived by his wife, Katherine Hilaire of Albuquerque; daughter Michelle Cramer of Lititz, Pa.; and sons Geoff Hilaire of Fort Pierce, Fla., and Richard Hilaire of Ipswich, Mass.
   In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Mid-Rio Grande Chapter of the American Red Cross, 142 Monroe St. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108.
   Arrangements are by Daniels Family Funeral Services, Albuquerque, N.M.
Edwin D. Shaw Jr.


Former Princeton resident
   
SARASOTA, Fla. — Edwin Donald Shaw Jr. died March 1 after a short illness. He was 84.
   Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he grew up in New Rochelle and was a former Princeton resident.
   He was a sales and marketing executive at the textile company Deering Milliken & Co. for 40 years, retiring as vice president in 1987.
   He began his college years at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. In 1943 he entered the Marine V-12 Program at Yale University to continue his studies while serving in the armed forces. He received a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan as a member of the class of 1944.
   He served in the Pacific on Palau and Guam and was recalled to duty during the Korean War.
   His career at Deering Milliken & Co. took him to Chicago, New York and Union, S.C. and in 1955 he settled in Princeton.
   While in Princeton, he enjoyed golfing and served on the board of directors at Springdale Golf Club.
   He vacationed in Sarasota for many years and decided to retire to Palm Aire. For the last 17 years, he was a member of the club and condo associations and enjoyed golfing and travel with his wife.
   He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Ruth M. Shaw of Sarasota; daughters Nancy Norland of Hopewell Township; Susan Shaw of Novato, Calif. and Sandy Shaw of Hailey, Idaho; his sister Lois Hartley of Rye, N.Y.; and grandsons Mike Norland of Washington, D.C. and Sam Strong of Hailey, Idaho.
   A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Tuesday at the First Presbyterian Church, Sarasota.
   A memorial service will also be held in Princeton at a later date.
   In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or to Dial Hope, 2050 Oak St., Sarasota, FL 34237.
Dr. Levon D. Yazujian


Opthamologist
   
NEW HOPE, Pa. — Dr. Levon "Lee" Dikran Yazujian died Saturday. He was 87.
   Dr. Yazujian was in private practice in ophthalmology in Trenton from 1949 to 1993.
   He was on the active staff at Wills Eye Hospital and from 1951 to 1953 served as head of the eye department at Fort Dix during the Korean Conflict. The majority of his career was spent on the active staff at Mercer Hospital where he served as a chairman of the eye department.
   Dr. Yazujian graduated from Trenton Central High School in 1937 and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1941. He received a medical degree from the University of Louisville. On completing his internship at Mercer Hospital in Trenton, he attended the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Medicine in ophthalmology.
   He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Dolores L. Yazujian; sons and daughters-in-law David and Christina and Mark and Ellen; and grandchildren Lauren, Kate, Morgan, Jared and Lila.
   A memorial service will be held 11 Thursday at the Lawrenceville Presbyterian Church, 2688 Main St. Lawrence.
   Memorial contributions may be made to The University of Louisville School of Medicine, 2323 S. Brook St., Louisville, KY 40208, payable to the University of Louisville Foundation or the American Heart Association, 1 Union St., Suite 301, Robbinsville, NJ 08691-4183.