By KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
EDISON — Longtime Board of Education member Deborah A. Anes will be remembered for her terrific character and her tireless efforts in doing what was best for the children in the Edison Township School District.
“There will certainly be a huge void with her gone that will never be replaced,” said Schools Superintendent Richard O’Malley. “She was an incredible human being and an enjoyable person to be around. As a board member, she was an enormous advocate for education and the staff and students in the Edison Public Schools.”
Anes, 55, passed away on March 14. She had been serving on the Board of Education since 2006 and was holding the position of board vice president.
Board President Frank Heelan said Anes, as a school board member, always looked out for the children and visited the many schools for their events.
“The phenomenal time she put into it without a paycheck is admirable,” he said.
Heelan said he worked with Anes on the board’s Finance and Facilities Committee addressing student growth at Woodbrook Elementary School and Menlo Park Elementary School and worked toward the reopening of James Monroe Elementary School, which occurred in January.
He further said Anes was instrumental in providing her wisdom in the curriculum offered and the policies made in the Edison School District.
“[Deborah’s] goals of a dance studio and fitness rooms will be at both high schools (Edison High School and John P. Stevens High School),” said Heelan.
Anes was born in Boston and grew up in Plymouth, Massachusetts. She was a graduate of Plymouth-Carver High School, where she was a member of the women’s varsity tennis team.
She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Marketing from the Boston University School of Management.
Upon graduation, Anes moved to New York City where she worked for Abraham & Strauss and Cinema Etoile. Anes settled in Edison in 1995, where she made a lasting impact on her community.
She was a member of Congregation Neve Shalom, Metuchen, serving as the vice president for education and was a longtime member of the board of directors.
Anes also served on the board of directors of Community Action Reaches Everyone Inc. (CARE), a nonprofit organization based in Edison that works in cooperation with school, business and community members with the goal to reduce the socio-economic and emotional barriers affecting students in the schools.
Dora Ramos, founder and president of CARE, said she met Anes when her son was in elementary school.
“Debbie was a good soul, a good person and she did things from the heart because she cared,” she said. “She was a tremendous advocate for the families of CARE. At the Board of Education meetings, she always mentioned something about CARE.”
Ramos said Anes helped her with the after-school program that CARE provides for students and volunteered her time as a tutor to help students with their homework.
“She loved the program,” she said. “Her kindness and spirit were always with the kids, and that’s what we do at CARE — help families in need.”
Ramos said when Anes became sick, she sent one of her sons to help with the program.
“We put a book together with photos of the 25 to 30 students in the program for her,” she said. “I brought it to her in rehab and it made her smile.”
Anes maintained her love for sports throughout her life and found great joy watching her sons play baseball. She was an avid Boston Red Sox baseball fan.
She is survived by her husband of 26 years, Ron; their two sons, Josh and Jacob; her parents, Alan and Nancy Carlin of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; two siblings, Wayne Carlin and his wife, Liz of Demarest, and Amy Carlin of New York City; her niece, Sarah Carlin; her nephews, Ben, Max and Sam Carlin; her mother-in-law, Minna Anes of Howard Beach, New York; her sister-in-law Barbara Getz and her husband, Deren, of New York City; and her nephews, Alec and Anders Getz.
The funeral service for Anes was held on March 17 at Neve Shalom in Metuchen. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society.