Former board member dies at 59

Former Florence Township Board of Education member Robert J. Honey Jr. died on Jan. 23.

By: William Wichert
   ROEBLING — News of the death of former Florence Township Board of Education member Robert J. Honey Jr., 59, Sunday, brought shock and grief this week to school officials, who said they remembered Mr. Honey as a valued board member who always participated in school district events.
   "I really looked to him for support and guidance," said William Berry, current Board of Education president. "When I found out Sunday that he had died, I felt like somebody had punched me in the stomach."
   Mr. Honey had served on the Board of Education from 1998 to 2004.
   Mr. Honey always made time for Little League games and different school events, Mr. Berry said. "No matter what was going on, he always made a point to come out and support the kids," he said. "I thought so much of the man. I can’t even explain it."
   Florence Superintendent Louis Talarico said Mr. Honey was a valued and respected school board member.
   "I was extremely shocked and upset (to hear that Mr. Honey had died)," said Dr. Talarico. "From my time with him, he was an outstanding board member."
   "He was very well-respected," Karen Honey said of her husband. She said that they had been cleaning up with a snowblower on Sunday at their Wallace Avenue home when she looked over and saw her husband slumped over in a chair inside their garage.
   She said she called 911 and tried conducting CPR on her husband until the police arrived within a few minutes.
   "They said they could not determine definitely if the little bit of exertion led to this," said Ms. Honey.
   A Navy veteran who served from 1964 to 1968 and a Roebling resident for more than 20 years, Mr. Honey did not seek re-election last spring to his school board seat. He was employed as a systems planning analyst at PSE&G, where he had worked for 36 years, Ms. Honey said.
   In addition to his wife, Mr. Honey is survived by three sons, Christopher, Robert III and Michael.
   Funeral services for Mr. Honey will be private, his wife said.