Richard Joseph Mikovsky

Richard Joseph Mikovsky TRENTON - Richard Joseph Mikovsky died Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008, at Capital Health Systems with his family at his side. He was 83 years old. Born and raised in Trenton, he was graduated from Trenton High School in 1942. As a young man, he attended midshipmen's school at Cornell University and later served, first, in the Naval Reserve, and then in the Navy aboard the U.S.S. Columbus. After the war, he received undergraduate and master's degrees from Lehigh University, and graduate degrees from Princeton University, where he received his doctorate in chemistry in 1952. He was a lifelong member of Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi. Before his retirement, he was a senior research chemist for more than 30 years at Mobil Central Research in Pennington, where he specialized in the chemistry of catalysis and zeolites. He was a founding member of the Zeolite Society. After retirement, he was a volunteer in science and philosophy at Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. His family and friends will remember him as a quiet man who loved to read. He particularly enjoyed the Latin and Greek classics, the philosophical writings of Kant, Spinoza, and Montaigne, historical accounts of the Albigensian heresy in France, and the original comic strip "Peanuts." In his spare time, he also enjoyed crossword puzzles, especially diagramless ones. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Virginia; his son, Richard, and daughter-in-law, Linda, of Princeton; his two daughters, Michaele and Maria, both of Lawrenceville; his beloved Pomeranian, Zoe; numerous cousins, nieces and nephews, and many friends. He was the son of Edward and Anna (nee Kushnerock) Mikovsky of Trenton, NJ. His brother, Edward of Belle Glade, FL, and two sisters, Lucy Dallas and Evelyn Kasony, both of Trenton, previously deceased him. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to a cause dear to his heart, the Animal Placement Agency of West Windsor, Inc. (APAW), P.O. Box 162, Princeton Junction, NJ 08550, from whom he adopted his dog, Zoe, and two of his cats, Ben and Ernie, and for whom he was a generous and longtime benefactor. Contributions may also be made to the Faith Development Center, Church of St. Ann, 1253 Lawrence Rd., Lawrenceville, NJ 08648. Interment will be private under the direction of Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Directors, Lawrenceville. www.poulsonvanhise.com