Obituary of Arthur Kondrup

Arthur R. Kondrup, 88, of Freehold Township, passed away at CentraState Medical Center on Monday, January 9, 2017, surrounded by his loved ones. Art was born and raised in Jersey City, eventually moving to Freehold Township in 1966. He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps at the age of 17, serving for two years as a cryptographer while stationed overseas on the island of Guam. Following his service, he graduated from Seton Hall University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management, and then he earned his MBA in Corporate Finance from New York University's Graduate School of Business. He started his business career in 1947 as an electronic systems analyst at the beginning of the computer age. He worked for the Port Authority of NY/NJ, leading the team that installed the first data processing program at the agency. He spent 14 years as Vice President at McGraw-Hill, then the Director of Administration for Greenwich Mills Company and later Executive Vice President at Saker Enterprises. He joined the Kean Administration as the Director of Housing and Development for the State of New Jersey and was a member of the State Planning Commission. He was Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection when Governor Kean asked him to be the first Chairman of the Council on Affordable Housing. His leadership of the Council, tasked with implementing the landmark Fair Housing Act of 1985, was instrumental in balancing the competing interests of affordable housing advocates, more than 500 municipalities and a State Supreme Court that took a keen interest in insuring their groundbreaking Mount Laurel ruling was properly implemented. He then worked for Wilmorite Inc., a Rochester based developer of shopping malls. Art was critical in the creation of the Freehold Raceway Mall, a vital economic asset to Western Monmouth County in general, and the Freehold area in particular. Finally, he led the Western Monmouth Chamber of Commerce for 8 years. Throughout all his success in business, his greatest joy was helping his hometown. He loved Freehold Township and dedicated many years to its success. He served five terms as Mayor and served 14 years as a member of the Township Committee, the Planning Board, and Chairman of the Township's Master Plan Committee. He served 18 years as a member of the Board of Trustees of CentraState Health Care System, including two years as Chairman of the Board during a major restructuring. He was a Vice President of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, Vice President of the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce, and President of the Freehold Township Republican Club. He was a lifelong member of the Knights of Columbus and a parishioner of St. Rose of Lima Church, serving as a teacher of CCD and as a lector on Sundays for over 30 years. Art was also the first Chairman of the newly established St. Rose of Lima Board of Education. Along with his numerous awards and citations, he was most proud to receive two Papal Blessings, the first from Pope Paul VI and the other from Pope John Paul II, in recognition of his years of service to the Catholic Church. Art is survived by his wife of 64 years, Patricia Kondrup; his five children, Diane Kondrup-Moore, Maureen Postorino, Teresa Kondrup-Coyle and her husband Tom Coyle, Arthur Michael Kondrup and his wife Rosalie and Stephen Kondrup and his wife Ingrid. He was grandfather to Jason, Devon, Shannon, Seamus, Bryan, Matthew, Austin, Barbara, Sharron, Anna and Sarah. A visitation will be held at the Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home, 100 Elton-Adelphia Road (Route 524), Freehold Township on Friday, January 13, 2017 from 3:00 to 7:00 PM. Relatives and friends are invited to attend his 11:00 AM Funeral Mass on Saturday, January 14, 2017 at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, 16 McLean Street, Freehold. Interment will follow in St. Rose of Lima Catholic Cemetery, 299 Freehold-Englishtown Road, Freehold. Contributions in memory of Arthur may be made to CentraState Healthcare Foundation, 225 Willow Brook Road, Suite 5, Freehold, NJ 07728 or St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, 16 McLean Street, Freehold, NJ 07728. For information, directions or condolence messages to the family, visit www.claytonfuneralhome.com