Middle School Teacher's Memorial Moved

Service planned for Saturday will be held at Auten Road Intermediate School.

John Stanczak, Founding Member of Fire Company, Dead at 86

Services set for Saturday for former chief of Volunteer Fire Co. no 2.

Former Hillsborough Fire Chief John Stanczak, 86, died on Tuesday — 30 days after local fire fighters and officials celebrated his decades of service to Hillsborough. Stanczak was a founding member of Hillsborough Volunteer Fire Co. no. 2, on Route 206, serving as chief in 1962 and 1963. His decades of volunteer service was recognized April 7, during a special luncheon in Montgomery.  "Chief Stanczak was always a fixture at our membership meetings and company events, always showing up with a smile, sitting in the back and enjoying the company and comradrie of the brotherhood," the fire company posted on its website announcing his death. "Chief always lent a helping hand with certain projects especially when it came to woodwork which was …

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Former and Current Students Saddened by Middle School Teacher's Death

One former student posts a tribute to Barbara Doyle, of Hillsborough Middle School.

UPDATE: The memorial service scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon Saturday has been moved to Auten Road School. The service was planned to be held at the Somerset Valley Playhouse.   Hillsborough Middle School teacher Barbara Doyle, 54, died Thursday, and the school has posted a tribute to the longtime seventh-grade literacy teacher on its website. But Ashley DelVecchio, a former student of Doyle's, was moved to post a tribute also to the teacher she said inspired her. In addition to her classroom duties, Doyle directed the school's plays, and it was there that Ashley formed a bond with the teacher as she was cast as Glinda in the school's production of "The Wizard of Oz."  The school's tribute notes Doyle "took leave from teaching last spring …

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Ruth Sherman, Co-founder of Hillsborough Pharmacy, Dies

Sunday interment at Temple Shalom Cemetery planned.

Ruth Sherman, of Somerville, has passed away at the age of 92. Ruth was an accomplished pianist and multilingual intellectual, who grew up during the Depression, gained admission to Radcliffe, and joined her late husband William in establishing and running the Hillsborough Pharmacy, the first pharmacy in Hillsborough. She raised two sons, Marvin and Eric, and saw to their advanced education. She is survived by son Eric of Somerville, daughter-in-law Katherine of Boston, and grand-children Benjamin of Boston and Lisa of Chandler. She will be interred Sunday, Feb. 3, at 1 p.m. at the Temple Sholom Cemetery on Chimney Rock Road (near Kearney St) in Bridgewater.  

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Jersey Newspaper Pioneer Dead At 99

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Motorcyclist Killed on Route 206 Was a Father-to-Be

27-year-old East Brunswick man died following crash Thursday evening in Hillsborough.

A 27-year-old East Brunswick man who was killed last week in a motorcycle crash on Route 206 in Hillsborough was a father-to-be, according to his obituary. Gregory Gentile died Thursday night at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital from injuries he sustained when his Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle was struck by 79-year-old Joseph Kuhta's Chrysler LeBaron earlier that day outside the parking lot of Nelson's Corner. No summonses have been issued and the crash remains under investigation. If anyone witnessed the accident, contact the Hillsborough Police Department at 908-369-4323. Gentile was born in Suffern, N.Y., before moving to East Brunswick 16 years ago, according to his obituary. Gentile, an East Brunswick High School grad, was a quality…

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Friends, Family Pay Final Respects to Teen

Mourners gather for Jose Mejia's funeral in South Plainfield.

Family and friends attended the funeral of Jose Mejia Jr., a Hillsborough High School sophomore who died last week. Mejia was 16. The funeral was held at the McCriskin-Gustafson Home for Funerals in South Plainfield. Interment followed at Resurrection Burial Park in Piscataway. Mejia's body was found during the early-morning hours Thursday on the sidewalk of Gemini Drive, authorities said. The cause of death remains under investigation.

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Whitney Houston Laid to Rest in Westfield

Procession arrived at noon Sunday for burial ceremony at Fairview Cemetery. Nearly 100 fans shouted 'We love you, Whitney' as hearse turned into the cemetery.

The vigil at Fairview Cemetery began at first light Sunday morning. There were no mourners, just reporters and photographers mingling congenially as they staked out a good spot for their reports back to the network morning shows or a position for the perfect photo of the funeral procession bringing Whitney Houston to the cemetery for her burial. Police officers arrived before daylight, at 6 a.m., to secure every possible corner of the Fairview property, from the Cranford border along Union County College to the south and E. Broad Street to the north. At the western end of the cemetery, Gallows Hill Road was closed to prevent any neighborhood street from messing up any potential route in which the procession of hearses and limos that would …

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5:12 pm on Tuesday, November 27, 2012

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Colleagues Shocked By DeCroce's Death

Local, state officials react to sudden loss of Assembly minority leader.

This story will be updated throughout the day: Local officials and former colleagues expressed shock Tuesday morning after learning Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany) collapsed and died suddenly late Monday night at the Statehouse. "I was totally shocked, that was totally unexpected," Butler Mayor Robert Alviene said. "He did what he could for us while he was in power. I'm sure his heart was in the right place all the time for the county here. Im sure he'll be missed." As a result of DeCroce's death, Gov. Chris Christie will postpone his State of the State address, originally scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. He is expected to deliver a eulogy to DeCroce instead. Patch will stream Christie's remarks live at 1 p.m…

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Photos: Family, Friends Mourn Pete Biondi

Former Hillsborough mayor, county freeholder and state assemblyman died of cancer.

Mourners gathered Monday at United Reformed Church in Somerville to pay their respects to Pete Biondi, the Hillsborough resident known for loving his town. Biondi died Thursday after a bout with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, just two days after winning his re-election bid to the state assembly's 16th district. He was 69, having been born in Newark June 23, 1942. He was raised in Union and lived in Hillsborough for 35 years, according to the funeral program. He is survived by his wife, Joan, his son and daughter, Peter and Jennifer and two grandchildren. His passion for politics and for Hillsborough led him to run for the Township Committee in 1983, and serve as mayor from 1986 to 1993. He is remembered for helping to construct the Hillsborough …

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