TOWN TOPICS, PRINCETON, N.J., WEDNESDAY, OCTObER 19, 2016 • 36
Obituaries
Michael Danielson Princeton University political scientist Michael Danielson, who helped modernize the study of local government in the United States and abroad, died September 22, 2016 in Princeton. He was 82 years old. D a n i e l s o n , t h e B .C . Forbes Professor of Public Affairs, Emeritus, and professor of politics and public affairs, emeritus, joined the Princeton faculty in 1962 and transferred to emeritus status in 2005. Born in New York City, Danielson received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rutgers University and his PhD from Princeton. From 1956 to 1959, he served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force. Danielson’s scholarship focused on urban policy and planning, with a particular interest in the politics of economic development. He also served the University as chair of the department of politics and associate dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, among many other posts. Danielson’s best-known book, The Politics of Exclusion (1976), set the stage for analysis of the growing distinctions between cities and suburbs, said Paul Lewis, who earned his PhD from Princeton in 1994 and is now associate professor in the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University. “The Politics of Exclusion was a thorough examination of the problem of the ‘exclusionary zoning’ of suburbia, through which many suburbs were able to remain exclusive upper- and m iddle -income enclaves in an era when the urban poor, par ticularly racial minorities, were seeking residential opportunities outside of segregated innercity areas,” Lewis said. In all, Danielson wrote 11 books, including Home Team: Professional Sports and the American Metropolis and Profit and Politics in Paradise: The Development of Hilton Head Island. He also wrote about growth in modern Turkey, regional development in New York and urban transportation. Home Team, a critical examination of the relationship between cities and pro sports teams, helped launch a popular course Danielson taught in the latter part of his Princeton career on the political economy of sports. Danielson, whose interest in sports went beyond his
scholarship, brought famed sports announcer Howard Cosell to campus in 1992 to lecture on “Public Policy and Sports in American Life.” Former colleague Henr y Bienen, later president of Northwestern University, recalled sharing many trips with Danielson to Princeton basketball games. With Lewis, Danielson shared a love for the long-suffering New York Mets. Danielson was in high demand as an adviser for undergraduates’ senior theses, Lewis said. “For years, Mike had a highly coveted corner office on the top floor of Robertson Hall, where students could sit on a comfortable sofa and take in a scenic vista of the campus while getting detailed advice on their papers or career options — and maybe even bor row ing a book from the extensive collection in Mike’s office,” Lewis said. Danielson is survived by his wife, Linda Danielson; d au g hter, Je s s ic a Da n ielson; sons, Jeffrey and Matthew Danielson; sister, Holly Clevely; and brother, Peter Danielson. Memorial donations may be made to HomeFront or the D&R Greenway Land Trust. A memorial service was held earlier this month. Written by Michael Hotchkiss
Kathleen Elizabeth Corson Kathleen Elizabeth Corson, 26, formerly of Port Jefferson, N.Y., died Aug. 18, 2016. Born Sept. 18, 1989, in San Antonio, Texas, “Kat” was a graduate of Princeton High School in Princeton, and a lover of music, theater and the arts. The daughter of Diane Corson of Port Jefferson and the late Walter Corson, Kathleen completed the Child Development Associate Training Program at Molloy College and was hoping to pursue a professional childcare career. Kathleen adored children, especially her young nieces, Selah and Piper Heim; and nephews, Zachary and Harrison Zeller. In addition to her mother, Kathleen is survived by her sister, Lisa Heim-Zeller, of Wading River, N.Y.; her bother, Douglas Heim, of Boston, Mass.; sister-inlaw Stacy Swift of Boston; br ot h e r - i n - law G r e g or y Zeller of Shoreham, N.Y.; her nieces and nephews, of Boston and Wading River; and her beloved dog, Precious. Services were held Aug. 23 at t he Mou nt Sinai Congregational Church in Mount Sinai, N Y. Interment followed at Princeton Cemetery in Princeton. Arrangements were through the Bryant Funeral Home in Setauket, NY.www.bryantfh.com.
Venkatesan Perry Venkatesan Swaminatha Perry died peacefully in his sleep at his long-time home in Princeton on Saturday, October 15. He was an accomplished researcher and scientist, a devoted and loving family man, and a kind and generous friend to the many people whose lives he touched. His ebullient personality drew out the best qualities of each person he met. He was 84 and lived a rich and varied life. As a young man, he went from studying by kerosene lamp while growing up as a teenager in rural India, to helping develop the fuel-cell system that put the first man on the moon while he was also working on his doctorate at Columbia University. Born in Govindarajapuram, a small village in Palghat, India, on April 28, 1932, he was the first child of Swaminathan and Thangammal Peruvemba. From humble beginnings in Palghat, he studied in the small local public schools and graduated with a Bachelor of Physics in 1952 from the Government Victoria College. Over the next four years, he completed his Bachelor of Engineering in metallurgy at Banaras Hindu University, where he was awarded a Gold Medal for outstanding academic achievement. He also played soccer and cricket while in school. A f ter g raduat ing f rom Banaras, he worked for a year for Hindustan Steel in Rourkela, India, and was then sent to U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh for training. Fascinated by the opportunities in the United States, he decided to stay. He continued his education, earning a Masters degree from New York University and a PhD from Columbia. Dr. Perry held several research and scientist roles over the years at Western Electr ic, G eneral Cable, and Bell Communications Research. He was a pioneer in optical fiber and fuel cell technologies, with several patents to his credit. He was also an avid skier and tennis player, and his infectious enthusiasm for both activities helped introduce many others to his two favorite sports. Family was extremely important to Dr. Perry and he was very generous in helping his relatives both in the U.S. and India. He was instrumental in bringing his three brothers to the U.S. and getting them settled in their lives. He was truly a friend to his siblings and a father figure to their children. His brothers Seshan and his wife, Lalitha; Balu and his wife, Radha; and Natarajan and his wife, Sudha; all live in the U.S. His only sister, Kamakshi, passed away in 2014.
In 1991, after a lengthy and romantic courtship, he married Elizabeth Stuyvesant Pyne in a ceremony on the island of Kauai surrounded by family. They were steadfast bridge partners and great friends, and enjoyed traveling together, with India and Brazil being two of their favorite destinations. Dr. Perry was much loved by his wife’s three sons, Russell, Lawrence, and John, to whom he quickly became a trusted friend and father figure. His stepsons will never forget how “P.V.”, as they called him as young boys, could seamlessly transition from a fellow backyard Wiffle Ball fanatic to a skilled teacher helping them master their nightly studies, particularly in math and the sciences. When his three stepsons started raising families of their own, Dr. Perry embraced the role of grandfather and was adored by his 10 grandchildren. He was a devoted husband who lovingly cared for his wife in her later years. Mrs. Perry passed away at their home in 2015 with Dr. Perry by her side. He is survived by his three brothers and their families and his three stepsons and their families. A celebration of Dr. Perry’s life will be held in the coming months in Princeton. His ashes will be scattered at his Princeton home, at his wife’s ancestral churchyard in Garrison, N.Y., and in the Ganges River in India.
Phyllis Bergquist Billington Phyllis Bergquist Billington died peacefully at the age of 88 in Los Angeles, California of congestive heart failure. Born in Chicago, Illinois to John and Gerda Bergquist, she lived most of her adult life in Princeton, before moving to California in 2013. Phyllis was the beloved wife for 65 years of David P. Billington ; the loving mother of David, Jr.; Elizabeth (Donald); Jane (Johnson); Philip (Ninik), Stephen (Miriam); and Sarah (Peter); and the proud grandmother of Zoë, Timothy, Susannah, Lucy, Francesca, Rachel, Roy, Daisy, Anna, Clara, and Bram. She was also dearly loved by many inlaws, cousins, nieces, and nephews from the Bergquist and Billington families, and friends from childhood on. Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents, and by her brothers Howard and Roy, and her sisters Beatrice and Janet. Phyllis was a musician all her life. She began playing the piano at an early age, studying first with Theodora Sturkow Ryder. She was the outstanding graduate of Chicago’s Nicholas Senn High School in winter 1945, elected to the National Honor Society and the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper.
Majoring in philosophy and music, she graduated from Nor t hwester n Universit y in 1949, Phi Beta Kappa, and outstanding graduate of the College of Liberal Arts. Phyllis wrote for many Northwestern publications, and she was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority. While still in college, she began modeling, appearing in local and national publications, and winning the 1948 New York Heart Fund Dream Girl competition. Af ter graduation she moved to New York City to study piano with Dora Zaslavsky at the Manhattan School of Music. She also continued modeling, with the John Robert Powers Agency, and graced the covers of McCall’s, Colliers, Look Magazine, The Ladies Home Jour nal, and The American Magazine, among others. In 1950 Phyllis received a Fulbright Scholarship to study both piano and harpsichord at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Belgium. Fellow Fulbright Scholar David fell in love with Phyllis at first sight, and they were married in Chicago in 1951. Before settling in New Jersey, Phyllis and David spent their first year of marriage in Ghent, Belgium, continuing their piano and engineering studies. They lived in Glen Ridge, New Jersey from 1952 to 1960. Phyllis’s life in Princeton was filled with music and her six children. She co-founded the University League Piano Group and was an active member of the Music Club of Princeton. She appeared in recital at Princeton University for the Friends of Music, in concerts at the Trenton State Museum, and overseas in performances in Belgium and Switzerland. Her “Illustrated Performances,” lecture recitals on classical composers, took her to audiences in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. She shared her passion for piano music, her sensitivity, and her scholarship with the Princeton Adult School, college concert series, libraries, retirement communities, community groups, and fellow music lovers, including her family. Her piano studio nurtured countless children and adults for over 60 years, introducing them to the expressive power and emotional fulfillment of music; and she was deeply enriched by continuing her own studies with Karl Ulrich Schnabel in New York City from 1977 to 2001.
Phyllis appreciated the many opportunities she and David had to travel, especially in Europe — opportunities to gather material and background for her lecture recitals, to meet cousins in Sweden, to visit with old friends, to experience other cultures and histories. She shared her memor ies of these trips, of her early life, of her family life and ancestry, and of her experience as a piano teacher and student herself in written memoirs, detailed photo albums, and scrapbooks. Although music was the guiding force in her interior life, she cherished her training in philosophy. “I never could have gotten through life without it,” she wrote. “Philosophy taught me to analyze, to see what was important, to keep my mind open but not be afraid of convictions.” Among the last words she spoke testify to her conviction that music was the expression of the love and emotion in her life: listening to a beloved Schubert sonata, she said, “pour your heart into it!” Phyllis was a devoted member of Christ Episcopal Church, Glen Ridge, and Trinity Church, Princeton. A s e r v i c e i n Phyl l i s’s memory will be held at Trinity Church on Wednesday, December 28th, 2016 at 2 p.m., followed by a reception in the Trinity Church Hall. Memorial donations may be made to Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Road, Princeton, NJ 08540 and to the Music Club of Princeton Scholarship Fund, c/o J. Rogers Woolston, 229 Walnut Lane, Princeton, NJ 085403459. Continued on Next Page
Memorial Service Hugh “Tony” Cline A celebration of the life of Hugh “Tony” Cline who died on July 4, 2016, will be held Saturday, October 29th at 11 a.m. at the Princeton University Chapel. Friends and family are cordially invited to attend. A reception will follow the service at Prospect House at Princeton University. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his name to the Girard College Foundation at 2101 S. College Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19121, or an educational program that promotes academic advancement for underprivileged children in your community.
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