The former commissioner of the state’s Department of Human Services has written a book
By John Tredrea, Staff Writer
What’s the greatest motivating force of all? A great story, perhaps. Be it fact or fiction, myth of legend, a story can be a mighty force indeed when it comes to driving change.
Take the story of Bob and Mary Sterling. Their story is no fable, it’s documented fact, but it’s still stunning to realize the quantity and quality of their achievements.
Said local author Jim Davy: “Since 1973, the Sterlings have adopted six children, fostered 39 children for extended periods of time and have taken in and cared for countless others in short-term respite situations, many of whom were medically fragile.”
Mr. Davy, a former Hopewell Township administrator, met the Sterlings a number of years ago when he was commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services.
”When I was commissioner, one of the things I enjoyed doing most was interacting with people who are serving the needs of New Jersey’s vulnerable population,” he said. “I met people, like the Sterlings, who were doing the most extraordinary things. I vowed that when I left the commissioner’s position, I would try to go back and interview some of these people and write a book about them.”
That book, “Noble Paths — Stories of People Who Serve,” was published by iUniverse. It can be purchased online from iUniverse, Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It’s also for sale in the Pennington Quality Market, which has long offered books by local authors.
Mr. Davy and his wife Lucille Davy, who is the state Commissioner of Education, live on Mallard Drive in Pennington.
All profits from the book will go to the nonprofit Court Appointed Special Advocates’ (CASA) Forgotten Children’s Campaign. The goal of that campaign is to “raise awareness of foster children and to aid in the recruitment of CASA volunteer advocates who work together with the court system in the best interest of foster children.” But back to the Sterlings. “They fostered very challenging children with very severe medical conditions, predominantly AIDS,” Mr. Davy said. “They were doing that back in the 1980s, when much less was known about AIDS than we know today.”
Mr. Davy paused and looked reflectively out the window. His face seemed to bear the mark of one looking for an answer. Then he went on: “You see, when they were fostering those AIDS children, the Sterlings were discriminated against by their own family, friends and church. They kept doing it anyway.”
He paused again and continued: “They’re very modest people. When I interviewed them for my book, I asked them why they did what they did for all these children. Bob just shrugged and said: ‘I guess it’s just in us’.”
”It’s Just In Us” is the title of the second chapter of Mr. Davy’s 245-page book. The first chapter, “Grief Is A Good Teacher,” tells the stories of four women whose sons were drug-addicted.
”Three of those boys died of overdoses,” Mr. Davy said. “One was found dead in bed by his mom. Those four women who didn’t know one another came together and talked about what they had gone through. One trial they had all shared in common was trying to get their sons to treatment facilities for drug addiction. There were no such facilities in South Jersey when their sons were addicted. They formed an organization called Parent to Parent, which helped parents of addicted children find treatment for them. They were the nucleus of a grass-roots campaign during the Whitman administration to create more drug treatment facilities. And lo and behold, one was created in South Jersey. When I went to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, those four women were there. I had seen them many times before.”
Mr. Davy’s book is done in the context of Appreciative Life Reflection, a perspective that focuses the reader’s attention on a story in ways that will enable the reader to learn from the story, and use what they learn to the maximum possible extent.
”I think everyone yearns to lead a life of meaning and purpose,” Mr. Davy said. “I think the only way to do that is by serving others — by looking out rather than looking in. That’s the great theme that comes through to me in the stories I’ve passed along to others in my book.”
Mr. Davy, 55, was Hopewell Township administrator from 1982 to 1989. He was West Milford’s town manager from 1989 to 1992 and Woodbridge’s business administrator from 1992 to 2001.
In Gov. James McGreevey’s administration, Mr. Davy was chief of management operations in the governor’s office before becoming commissioner of human services in 2004. He’s now president of James M. Davy Associates, which provides organizational consulting services.
More can be learned at CASA’s Web site, www.nationalcasa.org/

