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Obituaries
Sussex County Native, Longtime Toms River Resident Jennifer Bower Dies After Cancer Battle, 38 Sussex County Native, Longtime Toms River Resident Jennifer Bower Dies After Cancer Battle, 38
Sussex County Native, Longtime Toms River Resident Jennifer Bower Dies After Cancer Battle, 38 Sussex County native and longtime Toms River resident Jennifer Bower died Dec. 29 after battling cancer. She was 38. Bower was born in Newton, where she attended Marian McKeown Elementary School and Kittatinny Regional High School, her obituary says. Bower also attended Delaware Valley High School in Pennsylvania and graduated from Toms River South High School in 2000, her memorial says. Bower worked as an adjuster at AmTrust Insurance at the time of her death. Outside the office, she was known for her love of sports, live music and animals — especially her three dogs, Nicki, Brighten and …

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by Valerie Musson
Lifestyle
Community Rallies For Morris County Teen Undergoing Treatment For Second Bout With Cancer Community Rallies For Morris County Teen Undergoing Treatment For Second Bout With Cancer
Community Rallies For Morris County Teen Undergoing Treatment For Second Bout With Cancer The Morris County community is coming together in support of a teen undergoing treatment during his second bout with cancer. Kyle Gauweiler, a junior at Montville Township High School, was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma — a cancerous tumor in the brain stem — at the end of his eighth grade year, according to a GoFundMe created for his medical expenses. After undergoing an emergency surgery to remove the tumor, Kyle spent the following two years receiving intense radiation and chemotherapy while attempting to regain his physical and mental strength. “He was doing really well and looking fo…

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by Valerie Musson
Obituaries
Longtime Pequannock Police Chief Brian Spring Dies After Cancer Battle, 59 Longtime Pequannock Police Chief Brian Spring Dies After Cancer Battle, 59
Longtime Pequannock Police Chief Brian Spring Dies After Cancer Battle, 59 The Pequannock Township Police Department is mourning the loss of longtime Chief Brian C. Spring, who died Sunday night after a long battle with cancer. Spring, 59, had been working with the department since 1986, when he started as a patrolman. He climbed the ranks over the years until 2004, when he assumed his role as department chief. “The Pequannock Twp. Police Department and Chief Spring's family would like to thank all those departments, officers, friends and Pequannock Township citizens who have supported him over the last 3 years,” the department wrote on Facebook. “He will be misse…

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by Valerie Musson
Lifestyle
Make-A-Wish Foundation Grants Critically Ill Bergen County Girl, 3, Special Backyard Play Set Make-A-Wish Foundation Grants Critically Ill Bergen County Girl, 3, Special Backyard Play Set
Make-a-wish Foundation Grants Critically Ill Bergen County Girl, 3, Special Backyard Play Set A young Bergen County girl battling two life-threatening tumors had her dream come true when she received a backyard play set — courtesy of Jersey Mike’s Subs and Make-A-Wish. Riley, 3, has always loved playing on the playground near her Tenafly home, according to her parents, Jason and Nicole. The family was devastated when doctors diagnosed the young girl with both a brain tumor and a back tumor in January. She spent more than three months in the hospital undergoing four major surgeries as well as chemotherapy before her tumor returned — all in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. “P…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Women's Rights Champion Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies At 87 Women's Rights Champion Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies At 87
Women's Rights Champion Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies At 87 It wasn't a stretch to call Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg a rock star. A private interment service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery for the petite but fiery champion of gender equality, who died Friday in Washington, D.C. Her family was with Ginsburg, who died of complications from metastatic pancreas cancer, the court said. She was 87. "Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature," Chief Justice John Roberts said "We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
Jersey Mike's Opens In Boonton Jersey Mike's Opens In Boonton
Jersey Mike's Opens In Boonton Jersey Mike’s sub shop has opened on Myrtle Avenue in Boonton. Franchise owner Evan Mayer is holding a fundraiser to kick off the store’s grand opening. Customers with a fundraising coupon can make a minimum contribution of $2 to The Valerie Fund, which supports children with cancer diagnoses, through Sept. 20. “I joined Jersey Mike’s in May 1998 at the Original Jersey Mike’s in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ,” said Mayer.  “This was my first job at 14 years old and I’ve been with Jersey Mike’s this entire time (now 35 years old). I was initially attracted to the family atmosphere of the co…

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by Valerie Musson
Obituaries
Morris County Mom Joan Jennings Was Pioneer For Women In Engineering, 58 Morris County Mom Joan Jennings Was Pioneer For Women In Engineering, 58
Morris County Mom Joan Jennings Was Pioneer For Women In Engineering, 58 The Morris County community is mourning the loss of local mom and engineering industry pioneer Joan Susan Jennings. Jennings, 58, died after a long battle with cancer on August 4, her obituary says. A resident of Chatham, Jennings graduated from Scotch Plains Fanwood High School in 1980 and earned an engineering degree from Lafayette College in 1984, where she was one of the few female engineering majors in her class. Five years later, she married Bob Jennings and pursued opportunities in underwriting and HR before working as a loss control engineer and consultant at Chubb & Son Inc. …

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Port Authority K9 Crew Surprises Girl, 12, With Cancer Port Authority K9 Crew Surprises Girl, 12, With Cancer
Port Authority K9 Crew Surprises Girl, 12, With Cancer A 12-year-old girl with cancer who hopes to someday be a K9 police officer got a hero’s welcome from a group of four- and two-legged Port Authority officers when she showed up for treatment the other day. Three teams of PAPD K9 handlers and their dogs were among those cheering when April Quezada arrived at the Maimonides Cancer Center in Brooklyn. Named an honorary PAPD K9 police officer, April received a plaque, a certificate and a unit banner that she could hang in her room. She also got custom dog tags with her name on them, her own police nameplate, PAPD K9 shirts and other mementos. …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'Memories Will Have To Sustain Us': Dave Rivara, Beloved Owner Of Maywood Inn, Dies 'Memories Will Have To Sustain Us': Dave Rivara, Beloved Owner Of Maywood Inn, Dies
'Memories Will Have To Sustain Us': Dave Rivara, Beloved Owner Of Maywood Inn, Dies Bergen County legend Dave Rivara made an impression on just about everyone he met, not just personally but also among the countless musicians, staffers, fellow business people -- and, yes, customers -- he came to know in 40 years as owner of the Maywood Inn’s Twin Door Tavern. “We were born into a life of servitude and drudgery,” the Hoboken-born enterpreneur once joked when asked about the appeal of his saloon to so many different types of people. Rivara, 60, survived cancer, battled diabetes and was living with one kidney, friends said. Around 4 a.m. Tuesday, he succumbed to health compl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
COVID-19: North Jersey ER Doc Who Survived Cancer Twice Dies In Husband's Arms COVID-19: North Jersey ER Doc Who Survived Cancer Twice Dies In Husband's Arms
Covid-19: North Jersey ER Doc Who Survived Cancer Twice Dies In Husband's Arms An East Orange General Hospital emergency room doctor who twice survived cancer died Tuesday -- a week after developing symptoms of coronavirus. Dr. Frank Gabrin, 60, woke up with chest pain and other symptoms March 24, his husband, Arnold Vargas said.  On March 31, Gabrin woke up saying he couldn't breathe, and died later that day. Gabrin, who stayed home from work last Thursday, was not tested for coronavirus but he and his husband both were certain he contracted the virus since he'd been treating patients with similar symptoms, several news outlets say.   The doctor, who was featured …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
NJ Governor Murphy To Undergo Surgery For Kidney Tumor NJ Governor Murphy To Undergo Surgery For Kidney Tumor
NJ Governor Murphy To Undergo Surgery For Kidney Tumor New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is preparing for surgery in the coming weeks to remove a tumor on his left kidney. Although there's a reported 90% chance it's cancerous, "the prognosis is very good and I'm profoundly grateful to my doctors for detecting the tumor early," Murphy tweeted Saturday  night. Chemo or radiation wasn't likely, the governor said. "Over 50,000 New Jerseyans will hear the words 'you have cancer' this year, so I'm far from alone here," he wrote. "It's a situation that far too many families find themselves in. That's why we're fighting for them each and every day." T…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bergen's Tap Water Ranks 4th For Toxins In U.S., But Read This Before You Panic Bergen's Tap Water Ranks 4th For Toxins In U.S., But Read This Before You Panic
Bergen's Tap Water Ranks 4th For Toxins In U.S., But Read This Before You Panic The toxins are ubiquitous. They could be harmful. But New Jersey isn't the only state flooded with them, experts say. A sample of Bergen County's tap water (taken from Bergenfield last August) contained the fourth highest concentration of an increasingly-common group of toxins in the U.S., according to a series of lab tests by the Environmental Working Group. The EWG for the first time found the chemicals known as "PFAS" in the drinking water of dozens of U.S. cities, confirming that the number of Americans exposed to the chemicals by way of their drinking water "has been dramatically unde…

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by Cecilia Levine