Obituaries

Maury Fontaine Barkley of Somerset passed away on October 7 at St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick after a brief illness. She was 80. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, she lived in various towns throughout Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey before settling in Somerset in 1973. She worked as an Administrative Assistant for the Phillips Lighting Company in …

William V. Calvo, of Somerset passed away on October 5 at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. He was 94. Born in Franklin Township, he lived in Metuchen, Milltown and Bayville before moving to Somerset in February 2021. He was a Sanitation Worker for Public Works in Metuchen for over 30 years before his retirement. Previously he …

Pastor Isaac L. Johnson, III of Somerset passed away on October 4 at home. He was 63. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he lived in Somerset since the early 2000s. Pastor Johnson worked as a Facilities Manager for SERV Behavioral Health of New Jersey in Middlesex County for the past 25 years. Isaac attended Gateway College of Evangelism where he earned …

Elizabeth Rhodes, “Betty”, 82, passed away peacefully on October 3 at RWJ University Hospital, Somerset after a lengthy illness. She was born to the late Stephen Ball and Mary (Sopko) Ball on April 2, 1939 and grew up in Manville, then married her husband Donald, August 19, 1961. Betty worked in various secretarial fields, including being a legal secretary. She …

Helen Wolfe, 92, passed away surrounded by her family on October 3 at her home in Somerset. Mrs. Wolfe was born December 25, 1928, in Somerset, the daughter of Nassif and Agnes (Habib) Coury. She was a lifelong resident of Somerset. Helen was a clerical worker for John Wiley and Sons in Somerset, where she worked for over 25 years. …

Porfirio Cardenas of Franklin Park died peacefully on October 1 with his family by his side.He was 92. Visitation will be from 3-7 p.m. October 8 in the Gleason Funeral Home, 1360 Hamilton Street, Somerset. Funeral services will be at 9 a.m. October 9 from the Gleason Funeral Home, thence to OurLady of Peace, North Brunswick for a 10 a.m. …

Michael P. Yankowski, 90, died September 27 at St. Peter’s University Medical Center in New Brunswick. Mr. Yankowski was born September 30, 1930 in Elizabeth to the late Peter and Mary Yankowski. He was a lifelong resident of Elizabeth before recently relocating to Somerset. Michael honorably served in the Army during Korean Conflict. He was a truck driver for ABF …

Betty Mount, 84, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on September 3 in her daughter’s home in Somerset. Betty was born December 2, 1936, in Toms River to the late Ruben and Viola Fidler. She was a lifetime resident of Englishtown until moving in with her daughter in 1999. Before having children, Betty was a secretary at Orr Motors …

Jerry Grundfest, 91, died suddenly on Sept. 5. He was a resident of Somerset since 1966. Born in Brooklyn, NY, he spent his high school years in Phoenix, AZ, and then received his BA in History from Stanford University, and an MBA and Ph.D. from Columbia University (also History). His career in arts and historical organizations included the Philadelphia Bicentennial …

Robert Spitzer, 78, passed away on September 1 at Morristown Medical Center in Morristown.Mr. Spitzer was born September 16, 1942, in Ft. Riley, Kansas to the late Albert and Freida (Schwartz) Spitzer. He grew up in Lakewood and then moved to Manhattan, NY, where he met and married his life-long partner, Ann Spitzer, and started his family before settling in …