Mary Ellen Soldavin

Mary Ellen Conover Soldavin passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, after a brief, but intense, battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. Mary Ellen was born in Princeton, New Jersey on April 20, 1950 to Frances Terhune and Alvah “Bud” Beekman Conover. She grew up in Blawenburg, New Jersey and graduated from Princeton High School; then attended Robert Morris College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mary Ellen married Marc R. Soldavin at Blawenburg Reformed Church in 1970 and their son, Aaron Conover Soldavin, was born in 1978. They lived in Belle Mead prior to moving to Mount Pleasant and then Frenchtown, New Jersey. Well known for her extensive volunteer work, Mary Ellen served as a founding member and president for the Alexandria Township Historical Society and as president for Friends of the Hunterdon County Library, where she was a member of the Annual Book Sale committee from 2010 to 2019 as chair of Special Collections. She was also a member of the Hunterdon County Historical Society Board of Trustees from 2005 to 2020 and chaired its sale of deaccessioned books. As an Elder of Bethlehem Presbyterian Church in Pittstown, New Jersey, Mary Ellen chaired the Restoration and Building and Grounds committees, which repaired the 1793 stone wall surrounding the church’s cemetery. She also raised grant money for restoration projects and led the committee that commissioned a portrait of the BPC’s retiring Pastor Fred Black. Mary Ellen is survived by her husband Marc, son Aaron, and daughter-in-law Kelly. In addition, she leaves her brother Allan, his wife Lisa, and their daughter Allisa; her brother-in-law Raymond Soldavin and his wife Lynn DeBow; and many more extended family members. Arrangements are under the direction of the Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington, NJ 08822. Mary Ellen will be interred in Unionville Cemetery, Belle Mead, New Jersey; burial will be private. Due to COVID, a celebration of life for family and friends will be held in the future with further information available at that time. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made in Mary Ellen’s name to Hunterdon County Historical Society, 114 Main Street, Flemington, NJ 08822, www.hunterdonhistory.org. For further information or to leave an online condolence, please visit www.holcombefisher.com.