In Memorium

Claire Buehler, the widow of former State Sen. Herbert Buehler (D-Ocean Township), died on August 15.  She was 95.  A former PTA president, her late husband served as an Ocean Township councilman and ousted former Senate President Richard Stout in the 1973 Watergate landslide.  Richard Stout served one term in the Senate, and unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor in 1981; he died in 2007.

Nancy Asselta, the wife of former State Sen. Nicholas Asselta (R-Vineland), died on July 26 after a ten-month battle with cancer.  She was 70.

Michael Fressola, who served as mayor of Manchester Township for sixteen years, died on July 24. He was 98. A former U.S. Naval Reservist, he won the mayoralty in 1998 on a nonpartisan good-government platform and remained in office until 2014.

Frank Cicerale, a Hardyston councilman and former mayor, died on July 7.  He was 80.  A U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served during the Vietnam era, Cicerale had served on the Township Council since 2012 and previously spent more than three decades on the Hardyston Municipal Utilities Authority.  He had won renomination for another council term five weeks before his death.

Peter Lo Dico, a former mayor, councilman, municipal clerk and business administrator in Saddle Brook, died on June 16.  He was 73.  Lo Dico was elected to the local school board at age 18, won a Township Council seat in 1976, and became mayor in 1985.  He was appointed municipal clerk in 1997 and remained in that post until his death.

George Sabbath, a former Superior Court Judge, died on July 21.  He was 91.  Sabbath spent over a decade as the municipal court judge in Lincoln Park before Gov. Christine Todd Whitman nominated him to the Superior Court in 1997.

John Walsh, who served on the Oradell Board of Education for 33 years until his retirement in 2025, died on August 19.  He was 87.

Ralph Prisco, a Democratic county committeeman in Union Township, died on June 1.  He was 65.

Pat Trombetta, a former Woodbridge Democratic county committeeman, died on August 6.  He was 88.  Trombetta was a U.S. Army veteran.

Woody Dooley, a former business agent for Boilermaker Union Local # 28 and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, died on August 22.  He was 79.

George Convery, a former East Dover Fire District No. 1 commissioner who served for 30 years, died on June 5. He was 80.

John Voorhis, a former president of the Gibbsboro Board of Education, died on June 15.  He was 94. Voorhis was a U.S. Navy veteran who was stationed in Japan during the Korean War.

Donald “Butch” Van Deursen, a former Franklin Township Fire District No. 3 commissioner and fire chief, died on June 16 after responding to two fire calls the previous day.  He was 78.

Barry Semple, a former president of the Shrewsbury Board of Education, died on July 3.  He was 89.

Joseph Reichert, a Gloucester Township Fire District No. 2 commissioner who had served continuously since 2013, died on July 8.  He was 84. Reichert had previously served as chief of the Chews Landing Fire Department.

Louis Monaco, a former member of the Springfield Board of Education, died on July 7.  He was 85.

Ralph Milteer, the first Black member of the Hillside Board of Education who later served as mayor and councilman, died on July 9. He was 95.

Raymond “Ray” Grimes, a former member of the Rahway and Union County boards of education, died on July 10. He was 70.

James Lukashuk, a Parsippany-Troy Hills Fire District No. 6 commissioner and life member of the Lake Hiawatha Fire Department, died on July 23 after responding to two emergency calls.  He was 64.

William Coulter, a former elected member of the Barnegat Board of Education, died on July 24.  Coulter was a U.S. Navy veteran who served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Tarawa.

Richard Sullivan, a former member of the Burlington Township Board of Education, died on July 28.  He was 81.  Sullivan was a U.S. Army veteran.

Gregory Leonberg, a former Moorestown fire commissioner, died on July 30. He was 68.

Michael Bonieski, a former member of the Flemington-Raritan Board of Education, died on August 12. He was 86.

Michael Nardino, a former Lodi school board trustee and councilman, died on August 13.He was 84.

Ronald Manzella, who served on the Union Township Board of Education for more than 20 years, including as president and vice president, died on August 23. He was 76.

Barbara Ackley, a former member of the Upper Deerfield Planning Board and the first woman to serve on the Cumberland County Planning Board, died on June 3. She was 87.

Michael Pantalione, who served on the Vineland Planning Board for 51 years and became its youngest chairman at age 29, died on June 21.  He was 80.  Pantalione was a U.S. Air Force veteran.

Joan Hutchinson, a former member of the Stone Harbor Zoning Board of Adjustment, died on July 7. She was 91.

Edward Ochmanski, a former member of the Lindenwold Planning Board and Zoning Board, died on August 2.  He was 78.

David Barnhard, a former member of the North Brunswick Zoning Board, died on August 13. He was 65.

William Boehm, a former member of the Lacey Township Planning Board, died on August 21. He was 96. Boehm served in the New Jersey National Guard for 33 years.

Irwin Rein, a former assistant Essex County Prosecutor, died on June 18.  He was 90.

Brenda Coppolla Cuba, a former assistant Essex County Prosecutor, died on August 3.  She was 77.

Royce Barr, a U.S. Navy veteran who was named to the State Commission of Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities by Gov. Brendan Byrne in 1976, died on August 23.  He was 92.  Barr had served as recreation director in Montclair and Princeton.

Robert Kowalski, a U.S. Army veteran who had been named chairman of the New Jersey Drug Utilization Review Council by Gov. Brendan Byrne, died on July 30.  He was 93.