S. Orange bids farewell to familiar face

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Residents will no longer see the friendly face of Joe Kelly at the ticket window as they commute to and from work at the South Orange Train Station. Kelly retired April 23, after 42 years of working for New Jersey Transit, the last 24 in South Orange. The Board of Trustees honored Kelly at its April 23 meeting, which was attended by his family, friends, coworkers and customers.

Trustee Mark Rosner read the proclamation before South Orange resident Trudy Mazin presented Kelly with a book of letters from South Orange commuters that she had compiled, along with a message board that NJ Transit customers had signed at the station that morning wishing Kelly well.

“I had everyone at the train this morning signing this and the sentiments are just beautiful,” Mazin said at the meeting.

Representatives from NJ Transit were also at the meeting to thank Kelly for his time working with them. John Leon, a senior director at NJ Transit, said the celebration in honor of Kelly was also a reflection of South Orange.

“We want to extend our gratitude and our thanks to Joe for the excellent service he has provided,” Leon said at the meeting. “It’s just as important to recognize the village for recognizing it in such a fashion that shows their love and appreciation, and that’s truly something that’s very unique, something that I’ve not seen in other communities. That’s a reflection not only on Joe, but on all of you.”

Alan Antell from NJ Transit rail operations agreed, saying it is unusual for a retiring employee to receive so much attention from the community in which they had worked.

“This doesn’t happen often, we don’t often get the recognition that you’ve gotten from the village of South Orange,” Antell said at the meeting. “This is really unheard of. We want to acknowledge your hard work and your dedication here in South Orange over the last 20 years. It’s wonderful to have met you and worked with you.”

Kelly’s union representative also spoke at the BOT meeting; Anthony Stevens, a division chairman of the TCU Transportation Communications Union, called the turnout at the meeting for Kelly a testament to his impact on commuters and the South Orange community.

“I’ve given a lot of awards, and this is one of the best turnouts where the whole town is here,” Stevens said at the meeting. “And at TCU for 42 years, that says a lot. Many people aren’t at jobs for 42 years. Twenty-four of those years you spent in this village, serving the people of South Orange. I think that is tremendous.”

Stevens also described conversations he and Kelly have during those years, saying that they have become good friends.

“You’ve been a great friend to me for all my 28 years here, and I want to thank you for that,” he said.

Kelly thanked everyone at the meeting for what they said about him.

“Thank you everybody for everything,” he said. “I’ll miss everybody in South Orange that I’ve met over the years. The customers are the best; they treated me so nice all these years. It was fun to come to work and chat with everyone.”

Kelly also thanked his co-workers, who were at the meeting to wish him well in retirement, before assuring residents that he would come back to South Orange and visit, but joked that it would have to wait until the weather gets warmer.

“I can’t say enough about my co-workers who showed up tonight,” Kelly said. “I’m overwhelmed by it all. I already promised some customers I’d come back and have coffee on a nice summer day, because I’m done with winter.”

South Orange Village President Sheena Collum also made sure to thank Kelly for his time at the village train station.

“You are such a special part of South Orange,” Collum said at the meeting. “We have over 4,000 riders who got used to seeing you, on the good days and on the bad days when the train is late. And yet you were there to be that source of sunshine. We wish you the best, and you always have a home here.”

  FEATURED, NJ Transit, South Orange Board of Trustees, Village President Sheena Collum