Edward Kent Gill (November 14, 1917 – February 9, 1985) was an American

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

politician who served as

Mayor of Cranford, New Jersey Cranford, New Jersey was incorporated on March 14, 1871. The mayor is the chief elected official in the Township of Cranford, in Union County, New Jersey . The township elects five commissioners at-large to three-year terms, and the members of th ...

and was elected to two terms of office in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

, from 1982 until his death, where he represented the 21st Legislative District.

Biography

Gill was born in England on November 14, 1917. He was raised in

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

, and attended

Weequahic High School Weequahic High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Weequahic section of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The school is operated by the Newar ...

before serving in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Gill earned his undergraduate degree from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

and was awarded a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. He started working at

Western Electric The Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company officially founded in 1869. A wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone & Telegraph for most of its lifespan, it served as the primary equipment ma ...

in the 1930s, and during his four decades there was promoted to director, retiring from the company in 1979. for 40 years, retiring in 1979 as a director. Active in many Cranford community organizations, Gill was president of the Taxpayers Association, and served on the Housing Board and the Board of Health. He served as the township's mayor from 1967 to 1970. He was elected to the State Assembly in 1981, seeking an open seat when incumbent C. Louis Bassano ran for the State Senate. Gill and his running mate,

Chuck Hardwick Charles Leighton Hardwick (born November 8, 1941) is an American Republican Party politician and business leader who served as Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly and was a candidate for Governor of New Jersey. Early life Hardwick was bo ...

, defeated Democrats Edward Jonathan Bell and John D. Mollozzi by a wide margin. In 1983, Hardwick and Gill defeated Democrats Barbara Brande and Eugene J. Carmody.Fitzgerald's Legislative Manual Gill won by a relatively narrow 2,509 votes over Brande, who had been the first woman to serve as Mayor of Cranford. He had announced that he would not run for a third term in the Assembly.Staff
"Deaths Elsewhere"
''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', February 11, 1985. Accessed July 18, 2010. Gill died at age 67 on February 9, 1985, at

Muhlenberg Hospital Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center was a community-based acute care hospital in Plainfield, New Jersey. History It was founded in 1877 by the residents of Plainfield after a railroad accident. Job Male, the first mayor of Plainfield, donated the ...

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

due to

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

. He was survived by his wife, the former Margaret Lizzotte, as well as by a daughter, four sons and three grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Edward K. 1917 births 1985 deaths People from Cranford, New Jersey Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Politicians from Union County, New Jersey Weequahic High School alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Mayors of places in New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New York University Stern School of Business alumni Rutgers University alumni 20th-century American politicians British emigrants to the United States