OBITUARIES, April 17, 2007

Howard Menand Jr., Paul H. Erler, Ruth Wyatt, Judith Henschel

Howard Menand Jr.


Retired university professor
   
MONTGOMERY — Howard Menand Jr., a longtime Princeton resident, died April 9 at Stonebridge at Montgomery. He was 92.
   Before moving to Stonebridge in August he had resided at Meadow Lakes in Hightstown for 14 years.
   Born in Troy, N.Y., Mr. Menand was a retired Princeton University professor and dean.
   He attended Albany Academy in Albany, N.Y., achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and graduated in 1936 from Princeton University.
   After Princeton he went on to Harvard Business School and graduated in 1938.
   The next eight years he worked for the Westinghouse Corp. During his tenure there he and his family lived in Pittsburgh, Springfield, Mass., West Virginia and Ohio.
   In 1947, he joined the faculty at Princeton University where he taught business administration for 30 years. In 1955 he was appointed assistant dean of the School of Engineering.
   He was a faculty advisor over his 30 years to thousands of Princeton students. In addition, he was on the Faculty Committee on Admissions, the Commencement Committee and the Committee on Examinations, Standings and Schedules.
   He served on the graduate board of the Triangle Club where he had been the business manager during his undergraduate years. He was honored by the classes of 1965 and 1978, among others.
   Mr. Menand was president of the Community Planning Associates and director of the Central New York Wire Corp.
   He was a member of the Nassau Club and the Princeton Club of New York. In the 1950s he was Civil Defense director in Princeton.
   
Husband of the late Lucy Colpitts Menand, who died in 1994, he is survived by his children, Mary "Molly" M. Jacobs of Princeton, Walter C. Menand of Cleveland, Nelle M. Knox of Rochester, N.Y., and Howard Menand III of Townsend, Mass.; brother Louis Menand of Boston; 10 grandchildren; and 13 great grandchildren.
   Memorial contributions may be made to Princeton University.
Paul H. Erler


Owned local card shops
   
EXETER, N.H. — Paul H. Erler died Saturday. He was 95.
   Born in Akron, Ohio, he was a Princeton resident from 1966 to 2001.
   After 50 years as a retailing executive and following his retirement, he and his wife opened and operated two card and gift shops in the Princeton area.
   After graduating from Oberlin College in 1932, he received his master of business administration degree from the Harvard Business School in 1934.
   He served in the Navy during World War II as a procurement officer in the Department of Research and Inventions.
   His 50-year career in retailing began at the A. Polsky Company in Akron, Ohio and continued with executive positions at Joseph Horne Co., Montgomery Ward and Dykes Lumber Co.
   Mr. Erler and his wife moved to Princeton in 1966. Upon retirement, they opened and operated two card and gift shops in the Princeton area, an endeavor they both actively pursued until the age of 84. They moved to Riverwoods at Exeter in 2001.
   Mr. Erler was a member of the First Unitarian Society of Exeter, N.H. He was previously a member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton.
   Mr. Erler was a member of Springdale Golf Club, the Nassau Club, the Old Guard of Princeton, as well as the Harvard Clubs of Princeton and New York.
   He traveled extensively for business and with his wife for pleasure.
   Son of the late Paul H. and Anna S. Erler, he is survived by his wife of 72 years, Louise Wakeman Erler; daughter Nancy Waldron of Maple Valley, Wash.; sons and daughters-in-law John P. Erler and Ellen Chapman of Parsonsfield, Maine, and Donald R. Erler and Peggy Wooldridge of LaGrange, Ky.; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
   A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday at Riverwoods of Exeter, with the Rev. Kendra Ford officiating.
   His remains will be scattered in Maine at a later date.
   Memorial contributions may be made to the Seacoast Hospice, 10 Hampton Road, Exeter, NH 03833.
Ruth Wyatt

Chorus administrative director
   
MONTGOMERY — Ruth Wyatt died of brain cancer at home April 15. She was 53.
   Born in Cardenas, Cuba, she was witness to the revolution that compelled her family to start a new life in the United States when she was 13. She attended high school and junior college in Long Beach, Calif. and received a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Texas at Arlington.
   She enjoyed cooking, reading, stimulating conversation, entertaining and brisk walks.
   She was an elder in the Presbyterian Church USA, a member of Nassau Presbyterian Church and a member of the PEO Sisterhood.
   In 1982 Ms. Wyatt, her husband and their two young children moved in with her brother and wife and their two children, living as one family for 25 years, with her mother also joining the household as well as two more children. From 1983 to 1989 the family lived on 80 acres in rural Dighton, Mass., where she raised goats and chickens and was the founder and leader of a large 4-H club. From 1989 to 1996 the family lived in Arlington, Texas, where she served as a Stephen Ministry Leader, equipping laypeople to care for others during times of crisis.
   From 1997 until the onset of her illness in 2006, she served as administrative director of the Trenton Children’s Chorus. She was the 2003 recipient of the Governor’s Volunteer Award in the Arts for her work with the chorus.
   She is survived by her husband of 34 years, Alan; mother Zoila Llort; son Daniel; daughters Jessica and Gabriela; brother and sister-in-law Frank and Maureen Llort; nephew Kenny Llort; nieces and their husbands Ruth and Scott Feinstein and Erin and Jacy Little; and grandniece Clementine L. Little.
   A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Saturday at Nassau Presbyterian Church, Princeton.
   In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Trenton Children’s Chorus, Princeton Outreach Projects, 61 Nassau St., Princeton, NJ 08542.
Judith Henschel


Longtime Princeton resident
   
EWING — Judith Henschel died Friday at Greenwood House. She was 85.
   Born in Hungary, Mrs. Henschel was a resident of Princeton 30 years.
   She was a member of The Jewish Center of Princeton.
   Wife of the late Leonard Henschel, she is survived by a son, Adam Henschel of Princeton, and daughter Laurel Henschel of New York City.
   The funeral and burial were Monday.
   Memorial contributions may be made to Greenwood House, 53 Walter St., Ewing, NJ 08628.
   Arrangements are by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel, Ewing.