Fundraiser Established For Fair Lawn Bus Driver's Memorial

FAIR LAWN, NJ — It's not part of a bus driver's job description to extinguish a truck fire on the side of the highway, but Gerry Genuino always went beyond his job description.

Genuino was a school bus driver in Fair Lawn when he stopped on Route 208 to put out that fire in 2019, but he was an esteemed and valued member of the Fair Lawn Public Schools community well before that.

Which is why the Board of Education, and people across the district, took his passing so hard.

Genuino died from complications of the coronavirus in April 2020, according to a prior Patch report. The district honored him with a memorial ceremony at the time, but the community is now going a step further.

A fundraiser has been established in Genuino's honor with proceeds directed to the building of a memorial for him at the Bergen Avenue Transportation Building.

For sale are yellow t-shirts, which can be found by clicking here. Those t-shirts will be worn by community members on April 21 during a memorial event. (More details about that event will be provided at a later date, the district said.)

According to a description on the fundraiser page, "the plans are to construct a raised flower bed with a bench in front of our building in memory of our friend and co-worker."

The fundraiser has collected over $3,000 of the $10,000 goal, with the store set to close Friday at midnight.

In addition to the fundraiser, Northjersey.com reports that Mary Jane Genuino, Gerry's wife, has established a scholarship fund for students at Fair Lawn High School.

"He loved that school, so I just want to give back, and they have given us so much support as well this past year," she told the publication.

About Gerry

Genuino began working for the district as a custodian at Warren Point Elementary School in 2001, according to a news release from the district at the time of his death. Read more: Beloved Fair Lawn Bus Driver Dies Of Coronavirus

He quickly made an impact on those he worked closely with.

"I am just heartbroken," Lori Rocconova, Fair Lawn transportation director, said in a statement. "Our department will never be the same. He was a kind-hearted man, so humble and never asked for anything in return."

Then, of course, there's the fire story.

Superintendent Nicholas Norcia remembered those actions in his letter to the community last April.

"As he was driving a group of students back to school from a field trip, Gerry extinguished a fire that broke out in the back of a truck bed," Norcia wrote. "In true Gerry style, he jumped back in the bus — even before police arrived on the scene — to get the students back to school safely and on time."

In a post about the situation — which is still up on the district's Facebook page — officials made clear just how much he meant to them.

"Thanks Gerry for being our hero."

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