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John J. Kovacs was born in Bayonne, NJ, he moved to Keyport in 1954 and graduated Keyport High School in 1961.
He worked for Kerr Glass in Keyport as a maintenance Machinist until the plant closed in the early eighties. He then went on to work at Hyatt Clark Industries, and then took a position as a Maintenance Supervisor at Fragrance Resources in Keyport, retiring a couple of years ago.
He Loved working on cars and was even the Pit Crew Chief for the Dick Owens #16 stockcar, they raced everywhere from Wall Stadium to Daytona in the early sixties.
John was very involved in the Keyport Fire Department. He joined Lincoln Hose Co. No. 1 in 1961. He was chief of the department in 1974 and has been active since. His is one of the members that started the Keyport Firemen’s Fair over 50 years ago and remained an active member on that committee. John is also known around the Fire Department as “MacGyver” because he finds a way to fix things that others think are unfixable.
In addition, he served his community as a Councilman from 1986-1991 and again from 2008-2010. He also served on the Keyport Unified Planning Board from 1992-2018. John was a member of the Keyport Matawan Elks, the Keyport Republican Club and past member of the Monmouth County Republican Federation.
John is predeceased by his parents John J. Kovacs, Jeanette (nee Nicolais) Kovacs and James P. Kovacs, along with his beloved wife of almost 60 years Annette (nee Tomlinson) Kovacs who recently passed away on April 11th,2021.
His is survived by his loving daughters Camille Getter of Burgaw, NC, Bernadette Johnson of Burgaw, NC, Jacqueline Kovacs-Olsen and son in law David Olsen both of Keyport, NJ, along with his sister Elaine Bagshaw of Warrenton, VA and brother-in-law Ron Disbrow of Buena, NJ. He is also survived by his cherish grandchildren Tyler Getter, Joshua Schramm, John Kovacs III and Jeanette Olsen, as well as many cousins, nieces, nephews and his extended family the Keyport Fire Department.
Relatives and friends are invited Friday April 23, 2021 from 2-4 & 6-9 PM and Saturday April 24, 2021 from 11 - 11:45 AM at Day Funeral Home, 361 Maple Pl., Keyport NJ 07735. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered Saturday 12 PM at St. Joseph RC Church, Keyport followed by burial at Shoreland Memorial Garden, Hazlet.
In Lieu of flowers please make a donation to the Keyport Fire Department, PO Box 221, Keyport, NJ 07735.
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