St. Elizabeth’s School Crash - The Official Site for The Historical Society of the Somerset Hills (THSSH)

Photo courtesy: *The Bernardsville News/New Jersey Hills Media Group.*

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 5^th grade and Sister Eugenia, 4^th.

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.

A memorial to sisters Deborah and Eugenia was subsequently erected at the school. A box at its foot is used by current students to submit prayer intentions.