John J. Conaghan

John J. (“Jack”) Conaghan, Esq. passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 21, 2012 in Toms River, NJ. Born in Bayonne, NJ, he moved to Toms River in 1980, where he has resided for the past 32 years.

Jack graduated from St. Peter’s Prep where he played football and St. Peter’s College. After serving his country honorably in the U.S. Army during the Korean War Conflict, Jack started his career as a teacher of history at Bayonne High School and coached football during the 1960s. He attended Seton Hall Law School on a full scholarship and while in law school he achieved many honors including a fellowship from the Eagleton Institute of Politics and argued a Moot Court Case before the U. S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan and won the competition. After receiving his law degree in 1967, Jack served as an assistant deputy public defender and an attorney with Hudson County Legal Services specializing in poverty law. He was the first independent candidate to be elected in the City of Bayonne in the newly formed Mayor/Council form of city government and was elected to two consecutive terms from 1970 to 1978. He was an adjunct professor at Stockton College. Jack was an avid reader with a photographic memory. He never forgot a name or a face and was a gifted orator and writer.

Jack was the past commander of the Catholic War Veterans Post 155 in Bayonne and a former officer of the Bayonne Jaycees. He was a life member of the Knights of Columbus #4969 in Toms River, the Elks Club of Toms River and former member of the Toms River Country Club. Jack was an avid golfer and a New York Giants fan.

Jack is survived by Dolores DeLeo Conaghan and their three children, David of Avon by the Sea, Jane and her husband John Johnson of Aberdeen and John J., Jr. and his wife Denise of Toms River, cherished grandfather of Leo, Jena, Leah and Ireland. Loving brother of Alice Luchino, Sally Kinsella, Patrick Conaghan, Brigid Breivogel, Anne Cook, Kathleen O’Donnell, Denise Conaghan and loving brother-in-law, uncle, cousin and friend to many.

The visitation will be held on Tuesday, April 24th, 2012 at the Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home, 26 Mule Road, Toms River, NJ 08755 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. A mass will be offered at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Joseph’s church, 685 Hooper Avenue, Toms River, NJ with interment at the Brig. General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 350 Provinceline Road, Wrightstown, NJ 08562. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to Mount Saint Mary’s University, Office of University Advancement, Emmitsburg, MD 21727.