Carol Ann Lombaerde
Carol Ann (Seidel) Lombaerde passed away on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021.
Daughter of the late Max and Dorothy (Hopper) Seidel, she was born Nov. 19, 1935, in Prospect Park, N.J.
She graduated from Hawthorne High School in 1953. She lived in Layton, N.J., for 51 years.
Carol and her husband, Charles, were married on July 24, 1954, at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church in Paterson, N.J., and remained married for 54 years before his passing in 2008.
She was the recipient of the 1979 Distinguished Services to Education Award. In her community she was a 4-H Leader, member of the Sandyston Election Board, member of the Coalition for Better Public Education, member and president of the Sandyston Walpack PTA, volunteer librarian for the Sandyston Walpack School for 12 years, member of the Sandyston Walpack School Board for 15 years, where she served as vice president and president. She compiled the master plan for the Sandyston Walpack School district and served on the Regionalization Study Committee.
She was on the Kittatinny Regional School Board of Education for 10 years, where she served as president for four years. She took Basic and Advanced Negotiation Courses from Metzler Associates and also Advanced Bargaining Seminars from the New Jersey School Boards Associations. She was a chief negotiator for Sandyston Walpack School and for Kittatinny Regional High School. She also served on the Regional Joint Transportation Committee and on the Regional Advisory Council for Special Education. In the community of Sussex County she was a member of the Sussex County Consumer Affairs Bureau, the Secretary for the Sussex County Traffic Safety Council, member of the Sussex County AVA Commission, President of the Sussex County PTA, a member of the Drug Curriculum Study Committee for the Newton School System, Regional Coordinator in Sussex County and part of Morris County for the “Our Schools” program.
She also served on the Committee for Higher Education in Sussex County, president of the Sussex County School Boards Association, member of the Sussex County Teacher Center Advisory Board, and helped establish the first Teacher Center in the State of NJ. She was elected the first president of the Sussex County Educational Services Commission, when it was organized in 1978. On the state level, she was a member of the New Jersey School Boards Association Delegate Assembly and the Tax Exemption Committee and the Bicentennial Committee; she was also a member of the State Tax Ratable Loss Committee.
Carol was a member of the St. James the Greater Roman Catholic Church in Montague, N.J., where she was the Sacristan, Eucharistic Minister and Lector. She had a deep, abiding faith and spent many hours a day in prayer. She was also a parishioner at Our Lady of the Holy Angels in Little Falls, N.J.
Most recently she was a local celebrity, appearing in two commercials for the Milford Auto Body Shop, as seen on local TV stations, You Tube, and Milford Auto Body’s Facebook page.
Carol is survived by her daughters, Christy Mastrelli and her husband, Frank of Dingmans Ferry, Pa., Charlyn Dickens and her husband, Tom, of Lincolnville Center, Maine; sons, Clark and his wife, Candise, of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, and Charles and his wife, Helen, of Milford, Pa.; grandchildren, Anthony and Matthew Mastrelli, Adrienne Davidson, and TC Dickens; and great-grandchildren. She also leaves behind her cousin, Ken Wentink, and her very dear friends, Esther, Louise, and Maria and Art.
A funeral mass, officiated by the Rev. Wayne Varga and burial at the Hainesville Cemetery, was held privately at the convenience of the family.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. James the Greater Roman Catholic Church, 75 River Road, Montague, NJ 07827.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Gray Parker Funeral Home, Port Jervis, N.Y.