John Suydam Kuhlthau

1937 - 2020

John Suydam Kuhlthau

Princeton - John S. Kuhlthau, a retired Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey passed away on September 4, 2020.

Born in New Brunswick, May 16, 1937 he spent his early life in Milltown in the New Brunswick area. He attended Rutgers Preparatory School, graduated from Princeton University in 1958, and from Rutgers University Law School in 1962. He married Carol Collier Kuhlthau and they raised three daughters joyfully together in North Brunswick. After retirement he and Carol moved to Princeton, NJ in 1999 and made that community their home. He was a wonderful husband and father with a generous heart and spirit. He was quick with a warm smile and beloved by the many lives that he touched in each community where he lived and served.

John earned his J.D. at Rutgers University Law School and served as Public Defender and as Middlesex County Prosecutor prior to his appointment in 1976 to the bench as a Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey sitting in Middlesex County. He retired from the bench in 1997 after many years of public service.

He was a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church, trained at Drew Theological Seminary and demonstrated his faith in his actions throughout his life. In his retirement he devoted his efforts to numerous charitable causes. He supported community programs at Turning Point United Methodist Church in Trenton. He established scholarships for minority students at the Pennington School. He was a founding member of the Board of the Petey Greene Prisoner Assistance Program at Princeton University. He founded the John Suydam Kuhlthau Bioethics Conference at the New Brunswick Theological Seminary which has convened annually since 1997 to explore ethical and spiritual issues in medicine especially for end of life.

He is survived by Carol, his wife of 62 years, his daughter Eleanor Molloy and her husband Christopher, and their children Emma, Jack, and Owen; his daughter Ann Caspari and her children Elizabeth and Charles; and his daughter Leslie Maniotes and her husband Bill and their daughter Lily; and his brother Kearney Kuhlthau and sister-in-law Carolyn Kuhlthau. A private funeral was held at The Elmwood Cemetery in North Brunswick. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Quackenboss Funeral Home, New Brunswick. A memorial service will be held in the future.

Memorial donations may be made to the John Suydam Kuhlthau Bioethics Conference at the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, Princeton United Methodist Church, or Petey Greene Prisoner Assistance Program at Princeton University.