John M. "Jack" McGrath

MC GRATH John M. Jack McGrath Teacher in Hazlet and Union Beach, 80 John M. Jack McGrath, 80, of Lopatcong Township died Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, in Lopatcong Care Center, after a long illness. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in St. Marys Catholic Church, Alpha. Call on Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. and on Thursday from 9 to 10 a.m. in the DoyleDevlin Funeral Home, Inc., 695 Corliss Ave., Phillipsburg. To submit online condolences, please visit www.devlinfh.com. Jack came into the the world, with his twin brother, on Ascension Thursday in 1927. He was the last of 10 children born to the late Peter and Catherine McGrath of Elizabeth. He was a beloved husband, father and grandfather, who worked for 35 years as a teacher in the Hazlet and Union Beach school systems. Jack was devoted to his family and to his Catholic faith. He loved music and, blessed with a beautiful tenor voice, would find a reason to sing at almost any occasion. He was a member of St. Mary of the Assumption High School Class of 1946. He was drafted into the Army just before his senior year in August 1945. He served stateside, primarily at Fort Monmouth and Fort Dix, through the end of 1946. Upon his discharge from the Army, he completed his high school studies and enrolled at Seton Hall University, where he received a degree in political science in 1951. It was at Seton Hall, exposed to the study of theology and philosophy, particularly the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas and Thomas Merton, that he confirmed the strength of his faith that inspired him throughout the rest of his days. After college, Jack worked for Burroughs Business Machines in Jersey City and GAF Corp. in Linden. In the wake of the Sputnik launch, he answered the call for a new infusion of people from all walks of life into the teaching profession by joining the staff at the old Cottage Park School in Union Beach in 1957. He completed teacher certification studies at Rutgers University in 1958. In Union Beach, he worked at Memorial School until 1963, when he moved to the Hazlet School system. During his 29 years at Hazlet, he taught at the Cove Road, Raritan Valley and Sycamore Drive schools, retiring at the end of the 1991-1992 school year. In 1954, he married the former Marjorie Hogan of Plainfield. Together, they raised their five children and had 13 grandchildren. They lived first in Union Beach and then in Hazlet for 34 years before moving to Lopatcong in 1999. Jack was a member of St. Mary Catholic Church, 830 Fifth Ave., Alpha. He is survived by his wife of nearly 54 years; his children and their spouses, David and Debra McGrath of Middletown, Maureen and Joseph Anzalone of Montville, Daniel and Theresa McGrath of Bridgewater, Dennis and Susan McGrath of Hartland, Vt., and Aileen and William Miller of Lopatcong; his grandchildren, Matthew, Megan, Peter, Patrick, Katie, Emma and Grace McGrath, Mariangela, Joseph and Giselle Anzalone, and Ian, Sean, and Sheila Miller; a sister, Margaret Jennings of New Bern, N.C., and his twin brother, Eugene and his wife, Dorothy, of Austin, Texas. Seven siblings died earlier. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to the church.