Search Archived Marriage Records
Leela Kanter
Leela Kanter of Westfield, an influential member of many civic, religious and cultural organizations locally as well as internationally, died on Monday, July 27, 1998 at her home.
Born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka, she came to the United States in 1974, and had lived in Westfield for the past 14 years.
She graduated from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in communications.
Mrs. Kanter served on the Executive Board of the Westfield chapter of the American Red Cross, and held the position of secretary since 1993. She had begun her volunteer work with the International Red Cross in Sri Lanka in the 1970s.
Mrs. Kanter was on the Board of Directors of the Westfield Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). Within the organization, she also served as President and Founder of the International Women’s Club, a group of Americans who assisted recent immigrants in conversational English.
This group also helped women from around the world share their cultures and languages not only with each other but also with the community, through presentations and cultural events at schools and other groups.
Mrs. Kanter also helped to organize the Japanese Women’s Club, and was integral in the initiation and production of the longrunning Japan Day, one of the group’s many efforts toward educating the community about the culture of Japan.
She became a member of the Young Men’s Christian Association’s (YMCA) Board of Directors when the Westfield YWCA and the YMCA merged.
There, she continued in the role of Chairwoman of the International Committee. Throughout her service at both “Ys, ” she organized numerous field trips for teens to the United Nations in New York City.
She served on the Executive Board of The New Jersey Workshop for the Arts, based in Westfield, where she was influential in developing the organization’s Scholarship Fund by locating potential donors.
She volunteered with the Friends of Mindowaskin Park, often coordinating the volunteer efforts at the group’s annual “Party in the Park.” She had been a member of the Board of the Westfield Adult School Association, and was an associate member of the Musical Club of Westfield.
Mrs. Kanter worked for several years as a substitute teacher in Westfield, Scotch Plains, Garwood, Roselle Park, and Plainfield.
She volunteered with Church Women United, holding the position of Global Concerns, where she principally organized group trips to the United Nations. She was a member of United Methodist Women, and often attended the First United Methodist Church’s Women’s Circle 2.
She also had ties to the Religious Society of Friends, and was on both the board and the International Student Committee of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center for study and contemplation in Wallingsford, Pennsylvania, since 1989.
Mrs. Kanter served in various volunteer roles with the American Friends Service Committee, beginning with youth leadership conferences in Sri Lanka and India in 1973. She was also a member of the Plainfield-Rahway Monthly Quaker Meeting.
Mrs. Kanter had also been on the National Board of the YWCA of New York, planning programs on international issues. She was on the World Mutual Service Committee with Mary Rockefeller, promoting and raising funds for the World YWCA’s projects around the globe.
She also volunteered with many nongovernmental organizations affiliated with the United Nations, and was particularly involved in issues affecting women’s rights.
She worked with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, the Global Alliance for Women’s Health, and the United States Committee for UNIFEM.
Mrs. Kanter additionally volunteered with the nongovernmental organization Forum on Women, in association with the 1995 Beijing Conference. She served on the Executive Committee of the National Council of the Women of the United States, and also volunteered with UNICEF. She was a former member of the Quaker United Nations Organization.
Surviving are her husband, David P. Kanter; a daughter, Elizabeth Lakshmi Kanter of Westfield; three brothers, P. Nagendran and R. Parayerawar of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Kamala Kandasamy of Montreal, Canada; three nephews, four nieces, and four grandnephews.
A Hindu funeral service was held on Wednesday, July 29, at the Rosehill Crematory in Linden.
Memorial contributions may be made to the New Jersey Breast Cancer Research Fund, 28 West State Street, P. O. Box 260, Trenton, 086250630, or to the New Jersey Breast Cancer Coalition, 303 George Street, Suite 502, New Brunswick, 08901.
Clarence Winans, 84
Active in Rotary; Chaired Mountainside Planning Board
Clarence Hatfield Winans, 84, of Sanford, North Carolina, formerly of Mountainside, died on Saturday, August 1, 1998 at the Central Carolina Hospital in Sanford.
Born in Linden, the son of the late Raymond Wood Winans and Cora Spillinger Winans, he had lived in Mountainside from 1952 to 1986, when he moved to Sanford.
He was President of Winans Contracting Company in Linden for 40 years.
Mr. Winans earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity
He was a member and Chairman of the Business Management Commission of the Westfield United Methodist Church, and a member of the Jonesboro United Methodist Church in Jonesboro, North Carolina.
Mr. Winans was a member and Past President of the Linden Rotary Club and an honorary member of the Jonesboro Rotary Club in North Carolina.
He also was a member and former Chairman of the Mountainside Planning Board, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside.
He also belonged to the West Fields Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and served on the Board of Trustees of the First National Bank of Central Jersey.
He was a member and trustee of the Associated General Contractors of New Jersey.
Surviving are his wife, Lorraine Eyer Winans; three daughters, Janice Chirchirillo of Chicago; Susan Winans of Mountainside, and Christine McDonald of Colorado Springs, Colorado; a sister, Elizabeth Chance of Trenton, and a granddaughter.
Arrangements were under the direction of the Bridges Cameron Funeral Home in Sanford, North Carolina.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Jonesboro United Methodist Church, 407 West Main Street, Sanford, North Carolina 27330.
Gus R. Stukes, 79
Gus R. Stukes, 79, of Scotch Plains died on Sunday, August 9, 1998 at home.
Born in Newark, he had lived in Kearny before moving to Scotch Plains in 1986.
Mr. Stukes had been a checker in the shipping department for the Van Wagenen & Schickhaus Company in Kearny for 30 years before retiring in 1977.
He was a member of the United Packinghouse Workers Union and the Knights of Lithuania Organization in Kearny.
Mr. Stukes served in the United States Army during World War II with the infantry corps of engineers in North Africa and Italy.
Surviving are his wife, Rita Stukes; a daughter, Patricia Babko; a brother, Louis Stukes, and two grandchildren.
A Mass was offered yesterday, Wednesday, August 12, in Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Kearny, following the funeral from the Rossi Funeral Home in Scotch Plains.
Nancy Polizzi, 84
Owned Hair Salon; Had Worked at Margie’s Cake Box
Nancy Battiato Polizzi, 84, a lifelong resident of Westfield, died on Thursday, August 6, 1998 at Morristown Memorial Hospital in Morristown.
Mrs. Polizzi had been employed by Margie’s Cake Box in Plainfield for 15 years before retiring in 1984. She had previously been a hairdresser for five years at Andrew’s Hairstyling in Westfield, and prior to that, had owned Angelo’s Barber and Beauty Shop in Westfield for 20 years.
She was a communicant of the Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in Westfield and a member of the Rosary Altar Society and the Holy Trinity Senior Citizens Club at the church.
Mrs. Polizzi was also a member of the Catholic Daughters of America, Court Trinity No. 337 of Westfield. She was a longtime member of the Scotch Plains Senior Citizens Club.
Surviving are her husband, Albert Polizzi; a son, Albert Polizzi, Jr. of Hillsborough; a daughter, Lillian Capone of Flemington; three brothers, Ray Battiato of Florida, Phil Battiato of Bricktown and Adolph Battiato of Toms River; five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
A Funeral Liturgy was offered on Monday, August 10, at the Holy Trinity Church. Interment took place at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield.
Arrangements were under the direction of the Dooley Colonial Funeral Home, 556 Westfield Avenue in Westfield.
James R. Lee
James R. Lee of Scotch Plains died on Tuesday, August 4, 1998 at home.
Born in Washington, D. C., Mr. Lee had lived in Scotch Plains since 1963.
A retired Essex County juvenile corrections officer, he had been assigned to the Essex County Youth House in Newark for several years before retiring in 1996.
Mr. Lee served in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean Conflict.
Funeral services will be held in Washington, D. C. Arrangements are by the Bragg Funeral Home in Paterson.
Arthur C. Colley, 79
Army Veteran; Owned Tailor and Dry Cleaning Shop
Arthur C. Colley, 79, of Summit died on Friday, August 7, 1998 at Overlook Hospital in Summit.
Born in Ludowica, Georgia, he had moved to Summit 60 years ago.
Mr. Colley operated a tailor and dry cleaning shop in New Providence.
He was a member of the Wallace Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and of Linsey Street Post No. 322 American Legion, both in Summit.
He served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II.
Surviving are his wife, Martha Colley; a son, Edward Ross of Greensboro, South Carolina; a daughter, Sondra Clark of Scotch Plains; three brothers, Herbert Colley and George Colley, both of Union, and Walter Colley of Scotch Plains; three sisters, Edith Bymun and Juanita Neal, both of Savannah, Georgia, and Ruth Byrd of Summit; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held on Monday, August 10, at the Wallace Church, along with memorial services conducted by the Linsey Street Post 322 American Legion.
Arrangements were handled by the Judkins Colonial Home in Plainfield.
Michael Patanella, 88
Michael Patanella, 88, of Westfield died on Thursday, August 6, 1998 in Rahway Hospital.
Born in Italy, Mr. Patanella had lived in Newark, Toms River and Bayville before moving to Westfield last year.
He had been a chocolate maker for many years with Hooten’s Chocolate Company in Newark before retiring in the 1970s.
Surviving is a brother, Pasquale Patanella.
A Mass was offered on Monday, August 10, at St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church in Clark. The funeral was from the Union Funeral Home, Lytwyn & Lytwyn in Union.
