SOUTH BRUNSWICK – The longest serving mayor of the Township of South Brunswick has passed away.
Current Mayor Frank Gambatese, who has been in office since 2003, passed away on March 25 after a brief illness, according to a statement provided by Township Manager Bernard Hvozdovic.
The 81-year-old lived in the Kendall Park section of South Brunswick. He passed away at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, according to his obituary.
Born in Paterson in 1936, Gambatese moved to West Paterson in 1965 before moving to South Brunswick in 1992. He was an All-State honoree in basketball and baseball while at St. Bonaventure High School in Paterson, according to his obituary.
In 1954, he was drafted as a baseball pitcher by the Chicago Cubs. However, he choose to serve in the US.. Air Force from 1954-58, according to his obituary.
Gambatese was the longest serving mayor in history of South Brunswick, having served since he took his position in 2003. He previously served as deputy mayor during his political career in South Brunswick, and also served as mayor of West Paterson from 1988-92.
In the 20 years since Gambatese was elected to office, he attracted hundreds of new businesses into South Brunswick, including Target, Best Buy and Coca-Cola; he was a strong advocate for preservation and open space; he was involved in a five-year negotiation process where the State of New Jersey invested nearly $2.8 million in a 60-acre property that was once the historic Princeton Nursery site, part of a larger 187-acre preservation partnership between the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Green Acres Program, Princeton University and South Brunswick Township; and worked to address infrastructure needs of the community by securing $11 million in federal grants to study the widening of Route 1.
Gambatese was inducted into the N.J. League of Municipalities Hall of Fame in 2015.
He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus, the VFW and the American Legion in both West Paterson and South Brunswick. He served as a member of the Library Board of Trustees in South Brunswick since the early 1990s. He was also a former member of the Board of Directors for Saint Peter’s Hospital in New Brunswick, according to his obituary.
Gambatese was predeceased by his wife of 54 years, Ellen (Bertsch) Gambatese, in 2012, and his brother Rev. Angelus Gambatese in 2016.
He is survived by his sons, Franc Jr. of West Windsor and John Paul of South Brunswick; his daughters, MaryAnne Bross of Livingston, Rosemary Peng of Piscataway and Christine Alencewicz of Baldwinsville, New York; and 11 grandchildren.
A viewing will be held from 3-8 p.m. on March 28, at St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Church, 10 Kingston Lane, Monmouth Junction section of South Brunswick. The Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on March 29 at St. Cecilia’s. For church information, visit www.stceciliaparish.net.
Funeral services are being handled by The Crabiel Home for Funerals in Milltown.