Longtime Monmouth Freeholder Theodore 'Ted' Narozanick Dies At 96

FREEHOLD, NJ — Theodore ‘Ted’ Narozanick, who was Monmouth County's first county administrator and later served on the Board of Freeholders for 30 years, has died. He was 96 years old.

Monmouth County officials announced Narozanick's death Friday on the county's social media pages and said funeral services are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

According to his obituary on the Higgins Memorial Home website, Narozanick died Friday at The Manor in Freehold Township.

In a pair of interviews in the summer of 2000 for the Monmouth County Library project"Remembering the 20th Century: An Oral History of Monmouth County," Narozanick told reporter Sherry Conohan that his father gave him his motto, which was "Don't hold office, but serve in office."

Narozanick began his public service in the late 1940s, after he returned from serving with the U.S. Army in World War II. He said he went ashore at Normandy on day 2 or 3 after the initial invasion. He attained the rank of captain and was a recipient of the Bronze Star.

He was elected to the Englishtown Borough Council in 1947 and served on the council until 1954, when he was elected mayor. He then served as mayor of Englishtown for 12 years and also was a member of the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education for nine years.

In 1957, he took a job as Monmouth County's budget director, and worked in that role until 1974, when he was appointed as Monmouth County's first county administrator, a position he held until he retired in 1984.

His retirement from the job did not last long; he ran for the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders in 1985 and served until 2006.

In 2001, the Route 33 bypass in Freehold was named the Theodore J. Narozanick Highway to honor his many years of service to the county. In 2007 the Board of Freeholders honored him by naming him a Freeholder Emeritus.

"We will always remember Ted’s tireless dedication as his legacy to the people of Monmouth County," the Monmouth County Government Facebook post said.

Narozanick received numerous awards. He was the recipient of the Oglensky-Jackson Post No. 359 Jewish War Veterans of the United States Person of the Year Award; received a recognition from Veteran of Foreign Wars District No. 6 for contributions to the district; the Brotherhood Award by the Monmouth-Ocean Counties Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews; the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Monmouth-Ocean Development Council; the Special Friends Award from the Monmouth Conservation Foundation; the United Way of Monmouth County 25th Anniversary Award; the State of New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal; Western Monmouth Exchange Club Book of Golden Deeds Award; B’Nai B’rith Foundation of the United States Gold Medallion Award; and the Western Monmouth Chamber of Commerce Government Award.

He was awarded the Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow Award; the White House Conference on Library and Information Task Force Local Elected Official Award; the March of Dimes Franklin Award; Eastern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce Spinnaker Award; Library Champion from the New Jersey Library Champion Award; the Women’s Center of Monmouth County 1999 honoree; Korean War Veterans Association of Monmouth Chapter for his assistance with the Freehold monument dedication; the State of Israel Declaration of Independence Award; and was honored by the Borough of Englishtown by naming town hall and a private roadway in his name in 2000. He was named an honorary member of the Shrewsbury Power Squadron in 2001, and the CentraState Healthcare Foundation for honored him for 40 years of support by dedicating the garden and circular drive in front of the hospital to him.

He was honored in 2007 by Brookdale Community College with the dedication of the World War II Studies and Conflict Resolution Room in his honor where his Army artifacts are on display in the library. He received the Good Scout Award from the Monmouth County Boy Scouts and the Monmouth Ocean Development Council President's Award.

In addition to serving as a freeholder, he served on the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority for several years.

Narozanick was born Oct. 22, 1920 in Englishtown. He and his wife Margaret (nee Stillwell) were married in 1942 and moved to Englishtown after he returned from World War II; they moved to Freehold in 1966, he said. Margaret died in 2007, according to her obituary. They have one daughter, Carol; three grandsons, Scott Cranmer, Craig Cranmer, and David A. Cranmer, and several great-grandchildren. Narozanick, who had two brothers and two sisters, is survived by several nieces, nephews and extended family.

Visitation will be 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday at Higgins Memorial Home, 20 Center Street, Freehold, and on Tuesday at the funeral home from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., the funeral home announced. The Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Rose of Lima Church, Freehold, followed by interment at the parish cemetery. In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the Alzheimer’s Association would be appreciated, Higgins Memorial Home said. Read the obituary hereRead the obituary here.

Photo via Monmouth County Government Facebook page