The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 12

December 9, 1999 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER South Jersey B17 Obituary J. Kenneth Johnston mayor of Delran By Lauren Mayk and S. Joseph Hagenmayer INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF DELRAN Mayor John Kenneth Johnston 59, who devoted 27 years to police work in this class township before his election, died of a heart attack yesterday at Kennedy Memorial Hospitals-University Medical Hill. Considered a down-to-earth public servant, Mr. Johnston became mayor in November 1998 in a special election, just five months after he was elected to the Township Council.

Earlier in the year, he retired as a township patrolman. Mr. Johnston, a Republican, retained a common touch after becoming mayor, Township Administrator Jeffrey Hatcher said yesterday. "Sometimes when people come into office, they develop some sort of attitude or an ego," Hatcher said. "Kenny never had any of that." It wasn't unusual to find Mr.

Johnston in his constituents' kitchens or bathrooms, fixing their plumbing. He put a high priority on helping neighbors, John Kenneth Johnston Jr. spent his life in public service. friends and leagues in any way he could, friends said. "Kenny was a regular guy," said Township Council President Bert Hermansky, who will serve as acting mayor for 30 days under township guidelines.

"He'd give you the shirt off his back and do anything for you." As mayor, Mr. Johnston took a special interest in recreational facilities, township officials said. He was hoping to build ice hockey rinks, Hermansky said. "He said he was tired of seeing our kids go play in Cinnaminson and Riverside," Hermansky said. "He wanted to give something to them." Several years ago, Mr.

Johnston was named officer of the year by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post, family members said. Mr. Johnston was active in Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 2, which he served as vice president, said Police Chief Arthur Saul, who worked with Mr. Johnston during his years as a police officer.

After becoming mayor, Mr. Johnston still stopped by the Police Department to chat with officers, Saul said. Delran Police Sgt. John Kenneth Johnston 3d said his father had been "a very caring and giving person. I think he felt that he could improve the town" by getting involved in government.

Born in Riverside, Mr. Johnston was a 1958 graduate of Riverside High School, where he played football. He was a member of Loyal Order of the Moose Lodge 279 in Riverside, the Riverside Masonic Lodge, the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Delran, and the Polish American Civic Club in Delran. He liked to hunt and fish. In addition to his son, he is survived by his wife of 40 years, Carol A.

Henry Johnston; another son, Michael 'a daughter, Carol A. Gabrieli; five grandchildren; his mother, Mildred; and a sister. Friends may call between 6 and 9 p.m. tomorrow and after 9 a.m. Saturday at the Weber Funeral Home, 112 Broad Riverton, where a funeral will begin at 10 a.m.

Saturday. Burial will be in Lakeview Memorial Park, Cinnaminson. Memorial donations may be made to the Delran Emergency Squad, Chester Avenue, Delran, N.J. 08075. Here's a chance to save it again.

Get one of 52 famous Inquirer front pages, every Sunday in The Inquirer. The Step Man. Giant Leap for MAN WALKS ON MOON 'Small for The Inquirer It's how you know. In the Region Edward J. Davis Retired painter, 75 Edward J.

Davis, 75, a retired painter, died Monday at his Gloucester City home. He was a lifelong Gloucester City resident. Mr. Davis worked out of Camden's Local 1171 of the International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades of the United States and Canada before retiring in the mid-1980s. He was a Navy veteran of World War II and the Korean War, serving from 1942 to 1952.

During World War II, he served in the Pacific and took part in the liberation of the Philippines. He served in the Navy Reserve from 1954 to 1974. Mr. Davis was a member and past president of Fleet Reserve Association Branch 57 and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Townsend C. Young Post in Gloucester City.

He was a parishioner of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Gloucester City and was a member of the Sportsmen's Athletic Club in Gloucester City. He is survived by his daughters, Mary C. Hartz and Ann E. Lessig, and three grandchildren.

He was the widower of Dorothy Willis Davis. Friends may call between 7 and 9 p.m. today and between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. tomorrow at the McCann Funeral Home, 851 Monmouth Gloucester City. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m.

tomorrow at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Monmouth and Atlantic Streets, Gloucester City. Burial will be in New St. Mary's Cemetery, Bellmawr. Memorial donations may be made to Trinity Hospice, Box 250, 150 Ninth Runnemede, N.J.

08078, or to St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, 426 Monmouth Gloucester, N.J. 08030. H. Werner Doose Navy veteran, 82 H.

Werner Doose, 82, a Navy veteran of two wars, died of a stroke Sunday at his Pennsauken home. Born on a farm in Rendsburg in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, Mr. Doose came to the United States with his mother and sister when he was 12. His father had immigrated several years earlier to find work and prepare a home for his family. Mr.

Doose was a stationary engineer with Campbell Soup Co. in Camden for 25 years before retiring in 1983. A World War II and Korean War veteran, he served 20 years in the Navy before retiring as a chief petty officer. He served throughout World War II aboard the USS Idaho, which had been stationed at Pearl Harbor before to the Japanese attack. He was a member of Martin Luther Chapel in Pennsauken.

Mr. Doose enjoyed gardening and was handy around the house, redesigning and rebuilding the kitchen and adding an enclosed porch. During the Depression, he dropped out of school to work in the Civilian Conservation Corps. He earned his high school equivalency degree while in the Navy. He is survived by a son, John two granddaughters; and a niece.

He was the widower of Audrey Joan Rowe, with whom he had been married for 50 years, and the father of the late Mark A. Friends may call after 10 a.m. today at Martin Luther Chapel, Route 130 North and Terrace Avenue, Pennsauken, where funeral services will begin at 11 a.m. Burial will be in Locustwood Memorial Park, Cherry Hill. Memorial donations may be made to Martin Luther Chapel, Route 130 North and Terrace Avenue, Pennsauken, N.J.

08110. James A. Mackara Retired Bell employee, 77 James A. Mackara, 77, a retired employee of Bell of Pennsylvania, died of complications from an abdominal aortic aneurysm Saturday at Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia. He lived in Gloucester City for more than 45 years and was born in Philadelphia.

He was raised in Camden, where he graduated from Camden High School in 1939. Mr. Mackara was a switchboard installer for Bell for more than 39 years before retiring. A Marine Corps veteran of World War II, he served in the Asiatic Pacific Theater and reached the rank of corporal. He served on the Gloucester City Board of Education from 1967 to 1970.

Mr. Mackara was a member of Knights of Columbus Council 674 in Gloucester City, the Bell Telephone Pioneers, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Townsend C. Young Post in Gloucester City. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Marie L. Cunningham Mackara; sons James and Leo a daughter, Margaret Ciminale; two grandchildren; and a sister.

Friends may call between 8:30 and 10 a.m. today at the McCann Funeral Home, 851 Monmouth Gloucester City. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. today at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Monmouth and Atlantic Streets, Gloucester City.

Burial will be in New St. Mary's Cemetery, Bellmawr. Memorial donations may be made to St. Mary's Tuition Fund in care of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, 426 Monmouth Gloucester, N.J.

08030. Joan McCartney Former teacher's aide, 70 Joan Woodside McCartney, 70, a former teacher's aide, died of heart failure Sunday at her Moorestown home. She lived in Moorestown for 35 years. She was born in Philadelphia and raised in Atlantic City and Palmyra. Mrs.

McCartney worked at the Roberts School in Moorestown for 15 years in the 1970s and 1980s. Previously, she was a Moorestown crossing guard for three years. She was a 1947 graduate of Palmyra High School. She enjoyed knitting and crocheting. She is survived by her husband of 48 years, William J.

a son, William J. 3d; daughters Judy Yike, Karen Dixon and Peggy Ingoglia; and nine grandchildren. Friends may call after 6:30 p.m. today at the Lewis Funeral Home, 78 E. Main Moorestown, where funeral services will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Memorial donations may be made to the Samaritan Hospice, 5 Eves Suite 300, Marlton, N.J. 08053. Charles F. Nolan Installations director, 80 Charles F. Nolan, 80, a retired director of installations and operations at the Frankford Arsenal, died of complications from heart disease Sunday at Virtua-West Jersey Hospital Marlton.

He lived in Blackwood for 10 years before moving to Marlton two years ago. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he had lived there for most of his life. Mr. Nolan worked at the arsenal, in Philadelphia, for 37 years before retiring in 1974. He was member of the Frankford Arsenal retirees association.

He was a World War II Army veteran. He was a member of St. Joan of Arc Roman Catholic Church in Marlton for the last two years, and previously was a member of St. Jude's Roman Catholic Church in Blackwood. Mr.

Nolan was a graduate of West Catholic High School for Boys in Philadelphia. He is survived by his sons, Charles F. Jr. and Edward; daughters Irene Johnson, Peggy Egan, Catherine Nolan, Rita Torpey, Mary Wolfe and Grace Maier; 16 grandchildren; and four greatgrandchildren. He was the widower of Margaret Boyle Nolan.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. today at St. Joan of Arc Roman Catholic Church, Willow Bend and Evans Roads, Marlton. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery, Bensalem. Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, South Jersey Chapter, the Atrium at Greentree Commons, 11000 Lincoln Dr.

West, Suite 7, Marlton, N.J. 08053-3431. Cliff W. Stansbury Store co-owner, 30 Cliff W. Stansbury, 30, a co-owner of the Missing Piece in Swedesboro, died Sunday at Cooper Hospital-University Medical Center, Cam- den.

He died of complications from pneumonia, according to family members. He lived in Mullica Hill for the last two years and previously resided in Swedesboro. He was born in Philadelphia and raised in Huntingdon Valley. Mr. Stansbury was a partner in the Missing Piece, which bought and sold used furniture and household items, for six years.

He was a certified appraiser from the Missouri Auction School and was a member of the Certified Appraisers Guild of America. In March, Mr. Stansbury rescued a child from a burning house in Swedesboro. He was honored in April by the Borough Council for his actions. He was a 1987 graduate of Abington High School.

He is survived by his parents, Norris G. and Milvi Stansbury; brothers Norris V. and Gene a sister, Linda Justin; and his paternal grandmother, Regina Stansbury. Friends may call after 7 p.m. today at the Daley Funeral Home, 518 Kings Highway, Swedesboro, where memorial services will begin at 8:30 p.m.

JAMES HART Special to The Inquirer A scale model shows the plan for the Irish Memorial by sculptor Glenna Goodacre of Santa Fe, N.M. It will be installed at Penn's Landing within three years, organizers hope. Capturing Irish sorrow in bronze STATUES from B1 allowed landowners to export it at the same time a blight struck the country's potato crops. As part of an education effort, Gessler met with officials from the Philadelphia Board of Education in September. In November, a district curriculum specialist wrote Gessler, promising, among other things, to buy 80 videos about the famine for the schools and to observe the anniversary of the famine.

The videos and other materials frame a "human rights issue," making the famine "an important historical study for all students," said the specialist, Catherine M. Balsley. The push for a more accurate history and the memorial came from the late Dennis Clark, a faculty member at St. Joseph's and Temple Universities who wrote a number of books about the Irish. Clark died in 1993.

The sculpture is being fashioned by Glenna Goodacre, an acclaimed artist from Santa Fe, N.M., who designed another monument the Vietnam Women's Memorial on the Mall in Washington. More recently, the U.S. Mint chose Goodacre's, design for a new gold-colored coin that will 1 be distributed next year, depicting Sacagawea, the Shoshone teenager who helped Lewis and Clark when they traveled west. For this memorial, Goodacre, who said she is half-Irish, designed what she called an "impressionistic treatment, not minutely modeled," so observers can bring their own perceptions into play when looking at the sculpture. She plans to begin work early next year.

The memorial will feature about 30 life-size bronze figures of men, women and children. Some of the figures dig unsuccessfully for potatoes near Celtic crosses representing a cemetery. Two figures step over a stone wall, symbolically leaving Ireland to enter a huge ship. At the far end of the sculpture, a man standing on shore, arms raised, seems to welcome them to America. The idea for a memorial drew the approval of the Philadelphia Art Commission three years ago, and the Fairmount Park Commission, which controls the 1.75-acre park at Front and Chestnut Streets where the sculpture will be placed, endorsed the idea last year.

Goodacre's proposal was chosen from about 100 entries, Members of the Irish Memorial group and the Philadelphia Art Commission selected the winner. Kathleen Sullivan of the Office of the City Representative arranged for the committee to meet Mayor Rendell in an effort to gather support for the project, Gessler said. Rendell became the honorary cochairman of the committee, and he DOUGLAS MERRIAM Special to The Inquirer Glenna Goodacre also designed the Vietnam Women's Memorial. wrote letters to state senators, seeking help in getting state funding, Sullivan said. Some 44 million Americans have Irish ancestors, committee member Jack Luke said.

In Pennsylvania, about 16 percent of residents claim Irish ancestry. The Irish Memorial Inc. must raise $1.9 million to fund the construction, Luke said. So far, members have raised more than $900,000, with commitments from the state, a foundation's challenge grant, and the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in Philadelphia, Luke said.

Members say they have enough money for the sculpture and are raising more for perpetual maintenance of the grounds. In the meantime, Gessler hopes the sculpture and its accompanying written messages will help set the historical record straight. As he put it: "We want people to be moved, shaken by it." in Defense tries to widen trial's scope TRIAL from B1 paign contributions. He was fired, she said, for "incompetence." Compaine testified before Judge Stephen M. Orlofsky, but not in front of the jury.

After hearing Compaine's allegations, the judge agreed with Assistant U.S. Attorney James Nobile that the testimony was not relevant. Orlofsky said he would not allow it because Compaine could not remember who asked him for a contribution and because the alleged incident occurred several years ago. The Caruso trial, which coincides with a federal grand jury investigation into allegations of corruption in Camden, has given jurors an insider's look at local politics. Although Milan and Levin are not part of the trial, their names, along with those of several municipal judges in Camden County, have come up numerous times.

Levin, reached yesterday in Washington, D.C., called the allegations baseless "dirty tricks." She said she had never directed anyone to solicit contributions in exchange for Cherry Hill Mayor Susan Bass Levin called the allegations baseless "dirty tricks." jobs. "I have no idea what this guy's talking about," Levin said. "No one from my camp would ever have been authorized to make that demand." Caruso is accused of soliciting a $5,000 contribution from Elliot Stomel, Camden's municipal prosecutor, on the promise that Milan would recommend Stomel's reappointment to the job. Milan's lawyer, Carlos A. Martir denied in an interview that Milan had been involved with Caruso in soliciting campaign contributions.

"Caruso certainly seems to have had his own agenda, and whatever reason he had to implicate the mayor that's on him," Martir said last night. Yesterday, Caruso's defense began presenting its case and called numerous witnesses who vouched for Caruso's character, calling him honest and upstanding. On Tuesday, Stomel, who is also a part-time prosecutor in Cherry Hill, testified before the jury about donations he had made in both municipalities. He said he had contributed to Levin's campaign, thinking it would help him keep his job. He was never told the donation was required, he said.

In some years, he did not contribute but was still appointed. Stomel also testified Tuesday that Caruso had approached him for the $5,000 donation shortly after Milan was elected mayor in 1997. Stomel said it had seemed like an unreasonable amount of money. The request, he said, didn't "smell" right and seemed more like extortion than a request for a- donation. On Sept.

2, 1997, Stomel told investigators at the Camden County Prosecutor's Office what had happened. Authorities immediately investigated, and Stomel cooperated by secretly recording conversations with Caruso. A dozen conversations were taped between Sept. 3 and Dec. 29.

In a portion of a tape played in court Tuesday, Caruso told Stomel that it was a "done deal" after he got a $5,000 check. Milan, Caruso promised, would reappoint Stomel. In one of the conversations, recorded Nov. 18 and played to the jury Tuesday, Caruso complained to Stomel, in language laced with profanities, about the close political relationship between Milan and Levin. "He thinks she's the best thing since sliced bread," Caruso said.

Yesterday, while he was testifying without the jury, Compaine outlined the allegations. Compaine earned $10,000 a year as a municipal prosecutor and was retained from August 1989 through January 1992. "I didn't pay what was expected, and I was terminated," Compaine testified. "I thought it was unreasonable." Compaine testified that a fundraiser for Levin had told him that he should give 25 percent of his salary to the party that appointed him. He could not remember the name of the person making the solicitation and said he had never talked to the mayor about it.

Orlofsky asked Compaine if he believed he had to donate to keep his job. "Absolutely," Compaine responded. "So in your mind it was a quid pro quo?" the judge asked. Compaine agreed. Bothered by the request, Compaine said, he confided in Stomel, who was the lead prosecutor in Cherry Hill.

He said Stomel had told him that "in order to be a participant, you have to contribute to the party." He said Stomel had not advised him whether to make the donation. That, Zucker argued to the judge, showed Stomel understood that contributions influenced political appointments. Therefore, when Caruso asked for money in Camden, it did not rise to the level of extortion. And Levin, furious the allegations had been made all, was adamant in a telephone interview that Compaine was simply bitter because he had been fired. She said she had never interacted with him directly.

"I wouldn't know this guy if I fell over him on the street," she said. She said a former township solicitor had appointed and fired Compaine. She could not recall if she had approved the firing. Levin questioned Compaine's motives and failure to name the person he said had made the improper solicitation. "How dare he make a claim about an unidentified person and try and attack my credibility?" she said.

"He didn't like losing his job, and that was the end of it until seven years later when he goes to court as a witness for the defense and, Joe McCarthy-style, talks about an unidentified person." Inquirer staff writer Angela Couloumbis contributed to this article..