Officials mourn loss of public servant
By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
MONTGOMERY — The president and CEO of Cooper Health System and his wife died Sunday morning after a fire broke out inside their home on Meadow Run Drive in Skillman.
The Prosecutor’s Office said Sunday that Montgomery police and fire departments responded around 6:13 a.m. to find John and Joyce Sheridan in a bedroom.
Mr. Sheridan, 72, was pronounced dead at the scene, while Ms. Sheridan, 69, later died at the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said. An autopsy was pending to determine their causes of death, authorities said.
The Prosecutor’s Office said law enforcement is investigating.
Mr. Sheridan and his wife were mourned by Gov. Chris Christie and others around the state. He had a long career in the public and private sectors including a stint as assistant counsel to Gov. William T. Cahill, state commissioner of transportation under Gov. Thomas Kean, and a member of Gov. Christie’s transition team.
"John was an outstanding public servant, a leader in the health care industry and a true New Jersey treasure. Joyce was an outstanding teacher, wife and mother. Their family and loved ones are in our thoughts and prayers as they deal with the loss of these two special people," Gov. Christie said in a statement.
Mr. Sheridan graduated from St. Peter’s College and Rutgers University Law School, according to Cooper. He worked at Cooper beginning in 2005 as a senior executive vice president, eventually rising to the top job in 2008.
"He was a friend, a mentor and a role model. There is no one else who has had as big an impact on me as John did except my father. I will miss him very much," said Cooper board chairman George Norcross III in a statement.
Outside of work, he served on various boards, including Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey, according to Cooper.