Dr. John L. Stasi

Dr. John L. Stasi passed away from a brief illness on Monday, February 20, 2023.

Born in Elizabeth, NJ, to John Sr. and Clara Stasi, Jack graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School and earned a BA and MA from Kean University. In a life of many accomplishments, he was the proudest of his doctorate from the University of Mississippi, or “Ole Miss” as he fondly called it.

He had a long and distinguished career in teaching and in educational administration in the Hillside, Elizabeth, and Watchung Hills school systems, and most recently as principal at the You and Me School for children with autism at JFK Hospital in Edison, NJ. Jack was also an adjunct professor of graduate studies at Kean University, where his admiring students addressed him affectionately as “Doc.”

Among his numerous leisure interests were Music (particularly the Big Band era); Art (he was himself a gifted painter); Travel (Paris, London, Rome, California, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Florida and more); Movies (for which he had an encyclopedic memory); watching Ole Miss football games on TV; and speaking his ancestral tongue, Italian, at every opportunity. He was a voracious reader (especially of books on Lincoln); and a witty conversationalist.

A devout Catholic, he attended weekly Mass at St. Bartholomew's in Scotch Plains. Across his long life he lived for a number of years in Westfield, then South Plainfield, and most recently, Garwood.

Dr. Stasi leaves behind his beloved wife of 54 years, Ann Marie Gatto Stasi, R.N. from whom he was inseparable. He was profoundly devoted to their two daughters and their families: Jacquline Shankle, her husband Brian, and their two children, Emelyn and John; and Dr. Allison Moore, her husband Travis, and their children, Travis and Caroline. He is also survived by a sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Camille and Frank Korn, as well as many nieces and nephews. Requiescat in Pace, dear Dr. Stasi.

In lieu of flowers, the family would encourage donations to:

Autism New Jersey

500 Horizon Drive, Suite 530

Robbinsville, NJ 08691