Mary I. Smith Ferrie
Mrs. Ferrie, 74, of Woodbridge, died Nov. 5 at Roosevelt Care Center, Edison. Born and raised in Staten Island, N.Y., she had worked for several years at Staten Island Hospital as an assistant physical therapist. She was a communicant of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Staten Island. Mrs. Ferrie was predeceased in 1969 by her first husband, Edward Smith, and in 2003 by her second husband, Walter Ferrie. She was also predeceased by a brother, William Burtner. Surviving are a daughter, Lynda Kurzawa, of Colonia, Woodbridge; a son, Harold Smith, of Louisville, Ky.; four sisters, Audrey Burtner, of Port Orford, Ore., June Scallon, of Toms River, and Helen Giordano and Arlene Cutler, both of Staten Island; two brothers, Jack Burtner, of Staten Island and Harry Burtner, of Florida; a cousin, Adele Pangborn, of Basking Ridge; and four grandchildren. Funeral services were held at Costello-Greiner Funeral Home, Woodbridge, followed by interment at Moravian Cemetery, Staten Island.
William D. Smith
Mr. Smith, 39, of Las Vegas, Nev., formerly of South Amboy, died Oct. 21 in Las Vegas. His father, Richard L. Smith, died in 1996. Surviving are a son, Jesse Smith of Las Vegas; three daughters, Danielle Smith of Metuchen and Amy and Allison Smith, both of Las Vegas; his mother, Anna Marie Fisher Smith of South Amboy; two brothers, Richard Smith of Liberty, Texas, and Michael Smith of Bayonne; and three sisters, Patricia Zielinski of the Hewitt section of West Milford, Kathleen Kellenbenz of Philadelphia and Donna Marie Smith of Plainsboro. A private memorial service will be held at a later date. Arrangements were under the direction of Gundrum Service Home for Funerals, South Amboy.
John A. Sauer, Ph.D.
Dr. Sauer, 92, of East Brunswick, professor emeritus at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, died Oct. 31 at home. He became a general engineering instructor at Rutgers in 1936. In 1946 he was named professor and chairman of the Engineering Mechanics Department, and later chairman of the Physics Department, at The Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pa., where he taught until 1963. He returned to Rutgers in 1963 as professor and chairman of the Department of Mechanics and Material Science and served as acting dean of the College of Engineering in 1977. His wife, Marion Short Sauer, died in August. Surviving are two daughters, Pamela Smith of Camarillo, Calif., and Virginia Sauer, M.D., of Lafayette, Calif.; a brother, Herb Sauer of Falmouth, Maine; a sister, Helen Domarcki of the Monmouth Beach section of South Brunswick; and two grandchildren. A Mass was offered at St. Bartholomew’s Church, East Brunswick. Interment was in Holy Cross Burial Park, South Brunswick. Memorial contributions may be made to Rutgers University, the American Cancer Society, or the charity of one’s choice.
Frederick F. Offenburger Jr.
Mr. Offenburger, 59, of Bridgewater, formerly of Old Bridge and South Brunswick, died Oct. 18 in Somerset Medical Center, Somerville. He was employed as warehouse manager for Akzo-Nobel, Edison. His first wife, Carol Ann Hanlon-Offenburger, died in 2001. Surviving are his wife, Judith Ann Hanlon Offenburger; a son, Frederick F. Offenburger III of Jamesburg; two stepsons, Robert Hanlon II of Raritan and William Hanlon of Westfield; a stepdaughter, Heidi Snyder of Flemington; five sisters, Joanne Currie and Christine Hull, both of South River, Judith Cote of Maine, Laverne Fadgen of Connecticut and Priscilla Summers of North Carolina; and eight grandchildren. A Mass was offered at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Old Bridge. Entombment was in Holy Cross Burial Park, South Brunswick. Memorial contributions may be made to Milltown Veterans of Foreign Wars, 45 Broad St., Milltown, NJ 08850, or Bradley Gardens Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 6522, Bridgewater, NJ 08807.