John “Jack” Anderson, a man of profound integrity and boundless kindness peacefully passed away on June 6, 2024 after a courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease. Born on January 14, 1937, in Weehawken, New Jersey, Jack was the cherished son of Louis and Eleanor Anderson and the beloved elder brother to Bob, Karel and Louis. He is preceded in death by his parents and siblings.
Growing up in Hudson County, Jack was a prolific athlete. At the age of twelve he was banned from the youth baseball leagues for hitting the ball too hard. Jack went on to be a Varsity starter in baseball, soccer, football and basketball at Weehawken High School. He earned twelve Varsity letters in three years. To this day, Jack still holds records at his Alma Mater and was drafted by both the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants in 1955 into their “Rookie Star of Tomorrow” programs. Instead of pursuing a career in Major League Baseball, Jack decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the Port Authority Police Academy after high school graduation. Jack proudly served the residents of NY and NJ for twenty-one years in a variety of positions from patrolman to detective to leading the fire safety division at Newark Airport.
Jack fell in love and married his high school sweetheart Sarah Reilly. Together they raised three children: John Anderson, Michael Anderson and Kathy Anderson Sullivan. After relocating his family to Ocean County, he continued his passion for helping others and his love of sports by serving his community in a variety of ways. Jack held several positions on the Brick Township Sports Committee and was a Pop Warner football trainer. There’s no doubt that his favorite position was that of coach where his grandchildren and their teammates would affectionately refer to him as “Coach Pop-Pop”. A devout Christian, Jack was also a Eucharistic Minister for decades at St. Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church in Brick, NJ.
After retiring from the Port Authority in 1980, Jack assumed the position of Director of Emergency Services at Princeton University’s Plasma Physics Laboratory for twenty years. Leaving the long commute and overnight shifts of the Port Authority behind, Jack had the time to spend perfecting his golf game. He quickly became a scratch golfer playing at Bey Lea Golf Course in Toms River and enjoyed making golf clubs for friends and family. In retirement Jack’s perfect Saturday was an early round of golf, lunch with his wife and catching one of his grandchildren’s sporting events.
A man of strong Christian belief, Jack instilled values of hard work, kindness and integrity in his children and grandchildren. Jack is survived by his high school sweetheart of 65 years Sarah Anderson, his three children and their spouses, as well as seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
A memorial gathering will take place on Thursday June 13th, 2024 from 10:00AM to 12:00PM at The Church of the Nativity in Fair Haven, NJ. A memorial mass will be held after the visitation at 12 Noon followed by interment at Mt. Olivet in Middletown, NJ.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please consider donating to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (www.stjude.org), Tunnel to Towers Foundation (www.t2t.org), or a charity of your choice.