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East Brunswick council tables ordinance renaming street after school nurse

PHOTOS BY JENNIFER AMATO/STAFF
East Brunswick created a Field of Flags at Veterans Park in the municipal complex from Memorial Day to Flag Day. A portion of the proceeds of the sales of the flags were donated to support American military veterans. Any unclaimed flags were donated to East Brunswick VFW Post 133. 

EAST BRUNSWICK–Honoring former Vo-Tech Nurse Michael Sexton, the Township Council introduced an ordinance seeking to rename Dresden Road as Sexton Lane.

Sexton’s son Kevin said his father was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2014.

“[My] grandparents purchased their family home at 10 Coleman Road in 1954 in a move to East Brunswick from Bayonne to take advantage of its rural character,” Sexton said. “They were active in the local Democratic party and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).”

Sexton said his father was born on Feb. 18, 1958, at Saint Peter’s University Hospital and he built an entire life at his family home. He said his father attended East Brunswick Public Schools and graduated from East Brunswick High School in 1976.

“Throughout his youth, he was involved in the community as a member of the local Boy Scout troop and serving as the paperboy. In 1983, Michael Sexton graduated from Saint Peter’s School of Nursing and worked full-time at the hospital until 2008,” Kevin Sexton said. “Serving in the cardiac care unit, the recovery room and the emergency room, he continued to work for Saint Peter’s on a part-time basis until 2016.”

In 2006, Sexton said that his father and mother became licensed foster care parents.

“My father believed that every child deserved to be in a home where they were loved even only for a short time,” Sexton said. “My father was proud of the impact that he felt was made on these children during their time in our home.”

In 2008, Sexton said his father found what he felt to be his true calling as an educator at the Middlesex County Vocational School.

“He first taught health professions before becoming a school nurse,” Sexton said. “He truly loved his job and worked at both the East Brunswick and Piscataway campuses, he felt that it was his responsibility to care for the students especially those who came from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

Sexton said his father continued to work for the school through his cancer diagnosis, often attending school while hooked up to IV chemotherapy treatment.

“He attended school until he was medically unable to do so and even then was frequently on the phone with the substitute nurse to ensure the students received the proper care,” Sexton said. “Every year, he volunteered for the student graduation so he could be there for his students’ big day.”

“His relationships with these students [were] demonstrated by the fact that does of current and former students attended his wake and funeral and sent flowers and cards,” Sexton said. “In 2018, he was nominated by the school and received the Governor’s Educator of the Year Award.”

Sexton said that throughout his and his brother’s life his father had a tremendous amount of love for the town he grew up in and encouraged their mother, a geriatric nurse practitioner, to volunteer on the Commission on Aging. He was a lifelong parishioner of Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church and served an extraordinary minister.

“Our father was a tremendous man who raised two sons who both went to East Brunswick High School, Eagle Scouts and on to careers one as a police officer and one who works for the government in Washington D.C.,” Sexton said.

Sexton said his father passed away at Saint Peter’s Hospital in New Brunswick on May 3, 2018, surrounded by his family.

“With that, I understand that some council members may have an issue with the presence of this name change and consent, I understand the concern,” Sexton said. “Changing a street name in my mind impacts residents and business and requires a monetary commitment from the town and the residents on the road, but I’d like to paint a clear picture on Dresden Road, the road the name change would affect.”

Sexton said Dresden Road is a small dead-end road about 100 feet long adjacent to his family’s home.

The ordinance was introduced and approved on Oct. 14 during the council meeting, but Business Administrator Joseph Criscuolo said the council has tabled the ordinance, and when it will be put back on the agenda is up to the council.

“Unfortunately, no one knows it has a name; in fact, there has been no street sign for over 15 years. I would argue that our family is the only people who know that Dresden Road has a name. … The normal financial and logistical burdens to a name change simply do not apply here,” Kevin Sexton said. “This change does not in fact set a precedent because it is unlikely that the council will be presented with another request that falls under these unique circumstances. There is no good reason I could find to prevent this name change from taking place.”

Contact Vashti Harris at vharris@newspapermediagroup.com.

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