Shepler served Manalapan, Marlboro as administrator

BY REBECCA MORTON & MARK ROSMAN Staff Writer

 Alayne M. Shepler Alayne M. Shepler A layneM. Shepler, 68, who served as the business administrator in Marlboro and as the township administrator in Manalapan, died on Jan. 18 at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township.

Shepler, who was retired, lived in Marlboro for 30 years before moving to Old Bridge 15 years ago.

During her career, Shepler worked at various times as an administrator for Marlboro, Neptune Township, Old Bridge and Manalapan.

In Marlboro, Shepler served in the administrations of Mayor Saul Hornik in the 1980s and his son, the township’s current mayor, Jonathan Hornik.

The mayor called Shepler’s death “a tremendous loss forMarlboro; it’s a tremendous loss for her family, it’s a loss personally for me, she was a friend.”

Hornik said he knew Shepler for his entire life. He noted that she worked for his late father.

He recalled visiting Marlboro town hall as a child and feeling as if the people in the building were like a big family. Shepler, he said, always kept a desk drawer filled with candy.

He said that as a child he thought he was sneaking the candy from the drawer, but he later discovered that she always made sure the treats were there for him.

Hornik laughed as recalled that when Shepler began working as the business administrator for his administration, she once again filled the same drawer with candy for him .

The mayor described Shepler as a warm and welcoming individual. While Shepler was nurturing, she could be tough when it came to the negotiations she conducted in her position as business administrator, Hornik said.

The mayor said he is grateful for all of her hard work and the dedication she gave to her position during his father’s administration and in his administration.

“She was an unbelievable lady,” Hornik said .

One person Shepler worked with in Marlboro during both of her stints in the municipality was mayoral aide Peggy Gamza, who called Shepler one of her closest, dearest friends.

“She was a wonderful friend and mother, and an excellent business administrator. She will be sorely missed,” Gamza said.

In Manalapan, Shepler served as the township administrator from January 2004 through December 2006. Flags at the Marlboro municipal complex were flown at half-staff in honor of Shepler on Jan. 21.

Shepler is survived by two daughters and sons-in-law, Alyssa and Greg Palmieri, and Alexis and Gregory Zisko; a sister, Phyllis Santucci; a granddaughter, Catey Stover; a nephew, Bret Santucci; and her grandcats, Brianna and Norry.

A funeral Mass was held on Jan. 22 at St. Gabriel’s Church, Marlboro, followed by entomb-ment in St. Gabriel’s Cemetery and Mausoleum. Arrangementswere handled by the Waitt-Nelms Funeral Home, Morganville.

Donations may be made in Shepler’s name to the American Lung Association.