In Memoriam

Gene Ely, the chairman of the Bridgeton Charter Commission that recommended a change in the form of local government in 1968, died on April 27.  He was 85.  A U.S. Army veteran, Ely served on the Bridgeton Planning Board for 33 years before retiring in 2003.

Edward Masessa, a former Middlesex Borough councilman, died on May 2.  He was 90.  Masessa was elected councilman in 1970 and served two terms.  He later served on the Middlesex Board of Education.

Loretta Williams Barrett, the mother of former Star-Ledger reporter Kathy Barrett Carter, died on April 18.  She was 94.