Mary L. Herbst

Mary Herbst passed away after a brief illness on December 1st. She was 97. 

Mary believed that an individual could make a difference in the world. She was a longtime member of the Social Concerns Committee of Calvary Lutheran Church in Cranford. In this capacity, she helped establish temporary housing at the church for the homeless through the Union County Interfaith Hospitality network.  She also organized  food drives and letter writing campaigns to public officials regarding social issues. 

For more than 10 years, she and another member of the church taught a course developed by the Quakers on Alternatives to Violence  at the Edna Mahon Correctional Facility in Clinton and later at East Jersey State Prison in Rahway. Despite the fact that her classroom was locked, and no guards present, she later told NJ.Com that she didn’t feel threated and  focused on getting participants on the road to “starting life again and learning how to do it.” After her work in the prisons, she helped fundraise to address local and global issues as a member of Church Women United.

Mary also served for many years as a Board Member of Project Home. The organization assists families in danger of losing  their homes due to job loss or  illness. In 2011, she received the Martin Luther King Jr. Human and Civil Rights Award from the Cranford Clergy Council.   

A teacher by training, she taught French for more than 20 years at Orange Avenue Middle and Cranford High School.  She developed a passion for the language as a high school student in Wood Ridge and later as an undergraduate at Montclair State University. She believed that through the study of a foreign language a person can sharpen his or her mind and learn about other cultures. Mary was especially proud of the success of her students in all walks of life. 

She served as the President of the Cranford Education Association (CEA). She was a frequent attendee at School Board meetings where she  promoted the teaching profession and education in general.

In addition to being an advocate and teacher, she was as loving mother.

A long-time resident of Westfield,  Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Edward. She is survived by her daughter, Ellen Burns of Princeton, sons Robert  and his wife Jo-Ann of Toms River, and Peter and his spouse Adelaide of Flanders. She leaves six grandchildren and five great grandchildren. 

“Miss Mary,” as she was known in the prisons, touched all she met with her warmth and sense of humor. Above all she will be remembered for her kindness and determination to make the world a better place.

Relatives and Friends are invited to attend a reception at Higgins and Bonner Echo Lake Funeral Home, 582 Springfield Ave., Westfield on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, from 4pm to 8pm. 

A funeral service will be held at Calvary Lutheran Church, 108 Eastman Street, Cranford, on Thursday, December 8, 2022, at 11:00 AM.

In lieu of flowers, any donations can be made to Project Home of Cranford, PO Box 724, Cranford, NJ 07016(http://ProjecthomeofCranford.org).

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