On February 8, 1964 on Route 22 near Newark Airport, a truck collided with a passenger car carrying four nuns from St. Elizabeth’s School in Bernardsville, NJ. Two sisters were killed and two seriously injured. Sister Valerie (the former Doris C. Dolbach), was school principal and driver and was injured along with Sister Gabriella (Mildred MacCausland). The deceased were Sister Mary Deborah (Jean Oliver of Red Bank), age 28, and Sister Mary Eugenia (Loretta Gavin of Phillipsburg) age 25. Sister Deborah taught 5th grade and Sister Eugenia, 4th.
The impact on the students, school, and the community was huge. St. Elizabeth’s 500 students came from across the area including Basking Ridge (St. James school did not open until 1965). However, under the leadership of Rev. John Torney, Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish reopened St. Elizabeth’s on February 13. Faculty roles were shuffled and all were committed to returning the school quickly to normal, notably lay teachers Carol Devlin and Albert Latino.
I went to school there and it is s a shame that was never taught to us and there was never a memorial regarding this
I am also amazed there was never a memorial, I was in the 7th grade there at the time. Before I-78 always had to drive by that spot on route 22 going to EWR.