Obituary of John Allen Hurlbert

John “Jack” Allen Hurlbert, of Freehold Township passed away on Thursday, August 16, 2007 at the Pine Brook Care Center, Manalapan Township. He was born on January 25, 1923. During the Great Depression his family moved to Helmetta and from there to Freehold Township where he lived the remainder of his life. Jack graduated from Jamesburg High School and Rutgers University receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in economics in 1947 and a Master of Business Administration degree in finance in 1953. Following his college years Jack’s life became one of service to God, his country, his family, and his community. He was a devoted, longtime member of First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Freehold and Keyport serving in many capacities including the offices of First Reader, Treasurer, and Clerk. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on July 1, 1943 and was honorably discharged on July 2, 1946 having served as a lieutenant junior grade aboard the USS Kershaw and USS Crockett transporting U.S. Marines to many landings in the Asiatic-Pacific area. On April 1, 1945 he participated in the demonstration assault landing on the southeastern beaches of Okinawa Jima, Ryubyu Retto. Jack served as a boat group officer, then boat group division officer, CIC watch officer, assistant navigator, “N” division officer and lastly navigator. On February 15, 1945 he became a member of the Order of the Golden Dragon having crossed the 180th meridian and on June 10, 1945 the equator. Jack is predeceased by his parents, Edna and Bradlee Hurlbert. Surviving are the love of his life, the former Betty Jane Erickson of Keyport whom he married on January 20, 1973; his mother-in-love, Teressa C. Erickson; sister-in-love, Elizabeth M. Walling, Keyport; and numerous cousins. Although he began his banking career with Chase National Bank in New York City on August 5, 1947 he decided to leave the city to become a country banker accepting a position with the Central National Bank on June 15, 1948. Describing his duties in 1954 he wrote “keeping the general books of the bank, discounting notes, helping with the general teller work, trying to learn more each day about each operation within the bank, attempting to keep abreast of worldwide economic developments, trying to ascertain the financial needs of our community and how we can supply those needs safely.” Jack’s career took him through several bank mergers and name changes; however, he survived all of them, retiring 40 years later in 1987 from First Fidelity Bank, having become a vice president in 1969. When he became a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow, the citation read “In his business relationships he has been beyond repute in public esteem and very tireless in his devotion to the job at hand”. The citation further stated “He was a very humble, unassuming person who contributed greatly to his community over the years”. Jack served his community in numerous capacities: Past President of the Monmouth Chapter of American Institute of Banking; an Instructor for the American Institute of Banking, teaching “Principles of Bank Operations”; Past President and Trustee of the Monmouth County Bankers and Clearing House Association; Charter Treasurer of the Freehold Jaycees; former Committeeman for Battleground District of Boy Scouts of America; Charter Vice President of the Battleground Arts Center; member of the Monmouth County Board of Agriculture; a 50 year Master Mason of Olive Branch No. 16, F. & A.M.; a member and Paul Harris Fellow of the Freehold Rotary Club; Charter Treasurer of the Keyport Historical Society; a Past President Keyport Chamber of Commerce; Past President of the Keyport Kiwanis Club; member of Battleground Historical Society; Rutgers Alumni Association; and Rutgers Oral History Archives. Jack was an avid golfer and skier, a devoted fan of the Rutgers basketball and football teams, and an ardent reader of books about Abraham Lincoln and Winston S. Churchill. He inherited his love of history from his ancestors. His great grandfather, Silas C. Peckham, was a descendant of Sir John Peckham, who was from England and settled in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1638. Abel Peckham, great grandfather of Silas, and his two sons were minute men during the Revolutionary War. Joshua Peckham, Abel’s grandson, was a soldier in the War of 1812. Silas enlisted in the famous Chicago Board of Trade Battery during the Civil War. Jack’s father served in the Navy during World War I. Jack spent most of his vacations as a child and as an adult at his ancestors’ farm in Petersburgh, New York where they settled in 1790. He loved mowing the fields, vegetable gardening, chopping wood, cutting brush, painting farm buildings, picking blueberries, fishing in trout streams, swimming in mountain lakes, and hiking in the Taconic Mountains. Reluctantly, in 2004 Jack sold the farm, which had been in the family for over two hundred years. To celebrate Jack’s life, a memorial service will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, August 18, 2007 at First Church of Christ, Scientist, 98 West Main Street, Freehold. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the aforementioned church or the Freehold First Aid Squad, 18 Spring Street, Freehold, NJ 07728. Letters of condolences and memories may be sent by visiting the funeral home website www.higginsmemorialhome.com