By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
William Sword Jr. liked to sit by the window along the left side of the white-walled sanctuary at Nassau Presbyterian Church.
It was but one detail of a 61-year-old life that was remembered and celebrated Saturday to honor the township man who died Oct. 29 during the storm when a tree fell on him.
Family and friends filled all the way to the balcony of the church that Mr. Sword belonged to his whole life.
His widow, Martha, sat inside the same sanctuary where she and Mr. Sword were married in 1979. The couple’s three children, Gretchen, Hope and Will, joined their aunt, Sarah Sword Lazarus, and Mr. Sword’s brother in law Bob Sullivan to read from the old and new testaments, passages that included words about conquering death and of the last trumpet blast.
All the scripture verses and the hymns chosen for the service, from “How Firm a Foundation” to “Be Thou My Vision” were ones Mr. Sword had written on a card in his wallet, said the Rev. David Davis, pastor of the church, in his eulogy.
Rev. Davis said Mr. Sword led an exemplary life still that should be “marching on” and “pressing on.”
That life, full of kind acts and altruism, ended unexpectedly when a fallen tree hit Mr. Sword, who was clearing debris from the driveway of his family’s home on Great Road. As of Saturday, 113 deaths have been attributed to the storm, 24 of those in New Jersey, the state with the second highest death toll after New York at 48.
Mr. Sword, an investment banker, was the managing director of Wm. Sword & Co., the local business that his now late father had started. Away from work, he coached Little League baseball, built homes with Habitat for Humanity and remained an active alumnus of Princeton University.
At the end of the memorial, the organist played “Old Nassau,” the university’s alma mater. Afterward, the crowd spilled outside on the sidewalk on Nassau Street, some pausing to reflect on the man so many knew.
John Tiebout, a fellow church member along with Mr. Sword, recalled him as a “good friend” who was “always cheerful.”
”He was a great guy,” said Mark Herr, a neighbor who lives on Great Road.
Jonathan Smith recalled going to a Yankees playoff game last month with Mr. Sword, an avid baseball fan. The two men sat in left field at Yankee Stadium watching the game but also talking about life and other things.
Former Princeton Township Mayor Phyliss Marchand called the Sword family “pillars of the community.”
A correction was made to this article on Nov. 6.
