Mary Lillian Kasper, known to so many as the longtime owner, with her late husband, George, of the Twin Kiss Drive-In in Clayton, died peacefully in Tucson, Arizona, on February 26. Known to her sisters as “Lilly,” she was born on March 25, 1925, in a house along Croton Lake in Yorktown, New York. The daughter and seventh child of William and Susie Eaton Tompkins, she grew up in the countryside along Hunterbrook Road, where generations of Tompkins are buried in the local churchyard. After graduating from Yorktown High School in 1943, she moved to Stratford, Connecticut, to work at Chance-Vought, a division of United Aircraft, which was churning out F4U Corsair fighter planes for World War II. During the war, she lived in Stratford with her sister Susie, who had married John Kasper, George’s brother. When George came to visit his brother, he and Lilly started dating. They were married on June 6, 1946, after George came home from the Navy. George worked for General Electric, the Bridgeport (Conn.) Herald and did carpentry work until moving to South Jersey. With a buddy, he borrowed $5,000 and bought into the brand-new Twin Kiss franchise out of Ephrata, Pa. He opened the Clayton stand on May 19, 1955, and then sent for Lilly and the kids. In 1959, when the Twin Kiss added a sandwich unit, Lilly joined George full time, and they worked side-by-side for more than four decades. She was a strong and incredibly hard worker, proud of the success they made of the little ice cream stand that became a town icon. She was a kind person who had a smile for every Twin Kiss customer. She will be greatly missed. After retiring in 2002, she made her dream trip to Alaska and loved nothing more than watching Lawrence Welk and Jeopardy on TV and, with George by her side, following the Phillies and Eagles. After George died in 2013, Lilly moved to Tucson, where her son was living. As her health began to fail, she moved to Aslan’s, a Tucson care home, where she was a favorite and much-loved. Three children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren survive. The children are: David (Jun Li) of Felton, Delaware; Shirley of Denver, Colorado; and Gary of Medina, Ohio. The grandchildren are: Krishna of Newfield, N.J.; Kachina of Princeton, W.Va.; Kyle of Colorado Springs, Co; and Kelly of Atlanta, Ga. The great-grandchildren are Kaden and Michael of Princeton, W.Va. A sister, June Peene of Ronks, Pa., survives, as do numerous nieces and nephews. A viewing will be held on Monday, March 7, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the BARCLAY FUNERAL HOME, 208 Maple Street, Clayton, NJ 08312. Burial will follow at the Gloucester County Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Williamstown. Sign the guestbook at BarclayFuneralHome.net. Barclay Funeral Home 208 Maple Street Clayton, NJ 08312 (856) 881.3040
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