Wednesday, June 3, 2020
I had a very high regard for Elizabeth (Mrs. to me) Bunce and her husband. (Her daughter Betty and I were classmates in the PHS class of 1960.) Mrs. Bunce always struck me as a competent, no-nonsense woman who ran, you might say, a tight ship, so she was a little daunting for young people to approach. Mrs. Bunce and I both went to the Episcopal Church on Highland Terrace where I served as an acolyte, so maybe that gave me a little shield with which to approach her, so I did. I found her very thoughtful, kind and welcoming. I remember returning to Pitman as a cadet at West Point and walking by her house on Columbia Avenue. There was a warm light on in the living room window, so I knocked on the door. Mrs. Bunce seemed so happy to see me; she invited me in (no one else was home) and we had a lovely conversation. I was so glad I had overcome my trepidations about the sharp eye through which she observed goings-on. I will always remember that light in the Bunce window and the lovely woman reading under the lamp and ready to welcome the world outside. I am glad she had such a long life to enjoy it, and that I have a chance to share Betty’s loss. Joe Zengerle
