For Immediate Release:
August 13, 2010
County honors Judith Stanley Coleman
Champion of a better Monmouth County
FREEHOLD, NJ – The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders honored the late Judith Stanley Coleman, an ardent supporter and advocate for a better Monmouth County.
“With the Aug. 1, 2010 death of Judy Stanley Coleman, Monmouth County lost a community activist, philanthropist and a champion of the preservation of nature and open space and a very dear friend,” Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry said.
As a lifelong resident of Monmouth County, Coleman was involved with helping its citizenry, its history and its landscape.
“Judy worked locally, regionally and nationally to advocate for the people and places in Monmouth County and New Jersey,” Freeholder Deputy Director Robert D. Clifton said. “She left an amazing legacy and it is an honor to recognize her and her life’s work.”
Among her achievements, Coleman was a founder of the Monmouth Conservation Foundation and Garden State Arts Center Foundation, served as the chairman of the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and as a trustee of Monmouth Medical Center, Count Basie Theatre and Monmouth Museum.
“One of her passions was preserving the county’s remaining open spaces,” Freeholder John D’Amico said. “She was instrumental in creating the county’s open space, farmland and historic preservation fund and getting a similar measure approved in her hometown of Middletown. She also led the effort to keep Sandy Hook true to its origins and the goals of the National Park Service.”
“Judy was a visionary,” Freeholder John P. Curley said. “She spearheaded the purchase of the Taylor-Butler House by the Monmouth County Historical Association to create a significant historical site in Middletown and she worked to save farms and open space throughout the county.”
“So many people will continue to benefit from Judy’s work,” Freeholder Amy A. Mallet said. “Her leadership of the VNACJ has stayed true to its course for providing needed and caring support for people who are in need of short and long term care.”
“I am proud to pay homage to Judith Stanley Coleman, an amazing woman whose influence and passion for the environment, the history, and the people of Monmouth County will forever hold the torch high for all those who will follow,” Burry said.
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