John Robert Pietrowicz, 82, died peacefully at his home in Somerset, NJ, on Monday, November 12, 2018.
John was born to John and Mary Pietrowicz in Jersey City, NJ on May 31, 1936, and grew up in Kearny with his extended Polish family. After high school, John joined the Army during the Korean Conflict and served in the military Honor Guard at Arlington National Cemetery. He subsequently earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Montclair State College, where he met his future wife, Sandy Ragones. He taught in the West Essex Regional School District for four years before his recruitment by the New Jersey Education Association as one of the first Field Representatives specializing in negotiations and contract enforcement.
After John and Sandy relocated to what would become the decades-long family home in Titusville, John began work at the NJEA’s Trenton headquarters. Soon after, landmark collective bargaining legislation for New Jersey was passed on behalf of public school employees. John was tasked with writing a sample contract that could be used by local negotiating teams as they worked with their local school boards. To this day, many local association contracts continue to include the proposals John developed during the early days of the bargaining law. In 1971 John was promoted to the position of UniServ Coordinator, and in 1986 he was promoted to the position of NJEA’s Director of Instruction and Training which he occupied until his retirement on November 1, 1998.
Throughout his life, John loved to travel, spend time with his family, garden, and golf. He served on the Board of Directors of the Hopewell Valley Golf Club for many years. His positive attitude, resilience, and generosity will always be remembered by those who knew him.
After twenty eight years of marriage, John was predeceased by his wife Sandy and their first child Amy Lee. He is survived by his Aunt Zos Barszczewski, his wife Lynne O’Carroll, and his daughters Marni McDermott, Dori Ray, and Mandi Quinn. In addition, he is survived by his sons-in-law Tom Ray and Nolan Quinn, and by his grandchildren Lily and Jack Ray and Caitlin and John Quinn. His surviving siblings are his sisters Susan Szymanik and Claudia Kerr, and his brother-in-law Tom Kerr.
Calling hours were Thursday, November 15, 2018, from 2 to 4pm and 6 to 8pm at the Wilson Apple Funeral Home, 2560 Pennington Rd., Pennington, NJ 08534. John’s life will be celebrated with a Mass of Christian Burial on Friday, November 16, at 11:00 am at St. James Catholic Church at 115 East Delaware Avenue in Pennington, NJ 08534.
Internment following in Harbourton Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make a donation to the US Veteran’s organization of your choice.
