Former Berkeley Clerk, Longtime Township Employee, Passes Away

BERKELEY, NJ — Carmela "Kerm" Lewis, a former Berkeley clerk and longtime Township employee, died July 4. She was 94.

Lewis served Berkeley Township for more than 30 years before retiring in 1994, according to her obituary. She was township clerk, a Board of Health member and secretary, registrar of vital statistics, a Planning Board member and search officer for Municipal Liens.

Lewis was also a member of Faith Community United Methodist Church and the Berkeley Township Historical Society, serving in many capacities. She was past president of the Ocean County Municipal Clerks Association, a member of NJ State League of Municipal Clerks and International Institute of Municipal Clerks, and on the Advisory Board of Ocean County Health Advisory Council and the NJ State First Aid Council.

She was also an advocate for working women as a member of Soroptimist International Club of Toms River, a Professional Women’s Association. Lewis served on the Advisory Committee on the Status of Women.

Lewis also dedicated herself to pursuing training and professional education to expand her knowledge of how she could best serve Berkeley Township.

She is survived by three children: Sandra Dankowski, Laurel Jean Grube and her husband Louis, and Glenn Lewis; three grandchildren: Bonnie Grube and her husband Esmael Eissa, Wayne Lewis and Jonathan Lewis; one great-grandchild Farouk Eissa; and Carmela’s sister Flora Owen, sister-in-law Verna Smith and nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Edgar in 1972.

A funeral service took place Tuesday at Faith Community United Methodist Church. Donations in Kerm’s memory may be sent to the church or to Berkeley Township Historical Society, 759 Atlantic City Blvd., Bayville 08721.

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