Yesterday’s Asbury Park Press reported that longtime Re Bank volunteer fireman and council member John T. ‘Jack’ Illmensee died at age 72 Friday.
His obituary reports that he was a member of Liberty Hose Co., the Red Bank Rescue team, and served two terms with the Red Bank Democratic Club.
Illmensee served 13 years as a councilman in Red Bank and “was responsible for bringing back the Christmas lights to the downtown area after years without them,” the obit says.
Illmensee lost his last bid for re-election to now-state Senator Jennifer Beck in 1999. After the defeat, Illmensee told the Press that he was disappointed, but was looking forward to returning to private life.
“The problem is, I really enjoyed my public life. I enjoyed being part of the McKenna team,” Illmensee said, referring to Mayor Edward J. McKenna Jr. “The last nine years have been some of the most productive years of my life and of Red Bank as a whole.”
The Press reports that visitation will be held today from 3 to 9p at the Thompson Memorial Home. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10a. tomorrow at St. James Roman Catholic Church, followed by interment at Fair View Cemetery, Middletown. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made in his memory to the Vincent Scuorzo Heart Fund, 14 Crow Hill Road, Freehold, NJ 07728.
