Mary Clurman, Princeton community activist, dies at 83

Mary Clurman died Aug. 9 at the senior community Stonebridge in Skillman, New Jersey, 10 days before her 84th birthday, after living with Parkinson’s disease for several years.

Mary Monica Johnson was born in St. James, Missouri, to parents Joseph L. Johnson and Martha Jane Tipton. The family, including her older brother, Joseph, soon moved to New Jersey, first to Pompton Lakes and then to Montclair, where she graduated from high school. She attended Bryn Mawr College and then the Cooper Union, where she studied art and received a bachelor’s degree.

Mary married Rodney Clurman, with whom she had a son, Will. Mary and Rodney were divorced in 1984, and she subsequently married Emanuel Ridkes, who died in 2001.

Mary was a career-long teacher of young children, and she taught at several New Jersey schools, including Kinnelon, the Hilary Montessori School in Newark, the Far Brook School in Short Hills that Will attended, and the Montclair YMCA Watsessing School. She also set up a day care center for Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield. She made wooden toys that moved, including horses and trucks, for children to use in school. Later, she had a nanny agency and a website, Nanny.com, which Will set up for her in 1993. After the death of her second husband, she lived in Seligman, Arizona, and then, in her 60s, joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Thailand. During her time there, she had a serious bicycle accident and was flown to Princeton, where her brother lived. After a time of rehabilitation, she lived in his and his wife Angela’s house, and met Peter Lindenfeld, with whom she shared the past 15 years.

Mary was an ardent supporter of initiatives to improve the environment. The Guyot Walk near their home bears the imprint of the years of her curatorship. Her musical interests led her to play keyboard in a cowboy band in Arizona and participate in concerts of the Central New Jersey Choral Society. She became an avid gardener, and she wrote poetry.

She was very active in community issues in Princeton for many years, attending and speaking at council meetings, engaging with fellow community members, asking questions, and helping host public forums for the local Democratic club.

Mary found a congenial atmosphere at Stonebridge, where she and Peter moved about two years ago. She blossomed, helped to start a Parkinson’s exercise group and a singing group, and became active in the French club and the photography group. She continued to draw and paint, and explored ceramic constructions, some abstract, as well as expressive female forms.

The arc of her life will be remembered for her engagement and the contributions that continued and even accelerated as time went on.

Mary is survived by her son, Will, his wife, Meg Connor, their children, Lily and Sam, and their extended families; and by Peter Lindenfeld, his children, Tom and Naomi, and his grandson, Sam.

Donations in Mary’s memory may be made to HomeFront in Lawrence Township. A gathering to honor and remember Mary will be held at Stonebridge on Sept. 13.