Jacinto “Jack” Marrero, 86, of Princeton, died on Saturday, June 1, 2019.
A Korean War veteran, he was born in 1932 in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico and lived a long life of active citizenship, community service, and dedication to his work, family, and friends, and to the arts, culture, music, and baseball.
Mr. Marrero was a graduate of Hartwick College and a proud member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He was a teacher of many, beginning in Puerto Rico, and then in New York City and New Jersey in the 1960s and 1970s. During those years, he also worked as an accountant and as a part-time Director of Admissions at Lutheran Hospital, Brooklyn, New York. Early in his career, Mr. Marrero was hired by the New York City Board of Education to support and integrate Hispanic students into the community. He completed graduate work at New York University before beginning a long and meaningful career of almost thirty years with the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ). Jack held multiple leadership positions in the NCCJ over many years and was integral in fundraising, developing relationships with community and government leaders, resolving conflicts between different religious, ethnic, and racial communities, running workshops, and mentoring youth. Later in his life, Mr. Marrero remained committed to nonprofit and development work in creating Princeton Associates, LLC and the American Interfaith Council.
Mr. Marrero served on over a dozen professional and civic commissions and boards over the course of his life, including the founding groups of Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn and the Puerto Rican Institute at Seton Hall University, the Princeton Task Force on Ethics, the Board of Trustees of Beth Israel Medical Center, the Board of Trustees of Kean University, of which he was Chair, and the Princeton Regional School Board, of which he was President.
Jack was gregarious, kind, caring, funny, and well read, especially in politics and history. He enjoyed many recreational interests, including reading, swimming, cross-country skiing, tennis, culture, the arts, and travel. He had an encyclopedic memory for baseball and was a lifelong fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. Jack was also deeply passionate about music and singing. He played trumpet in the army, as well as during and after college. In 2012, Jack released a studio album of vocal music. He had also planned to record a second CD.
Beloved by many, Jack is survived and dearly missed by his wife, daughter, son-in-law, grandson, a sister, and many nephews, nieces, great-nephews, great-nieces, and extended family, friends, and members of the community.
Funeral services were held at The Jewish Center of Princeton on June 2nd, followed by burial at Washington Cemetery. Shiva was observed at the Marrero residence in Princeton.
Donations in Jack’s memory may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice.