Thomas Kelaher, the former mayor of Toms River who also previously served a five-year stint as Ocean County Prosecutor, has died at the age of 88.
Kelaher first became mayor of Toms River in 2008, and won reelection twice before deciding to retire after his third term in 2019.
Tom Kelaher represented the very best of a bygone America – warm, caring, generous, funny, impatient, driven, and above all, devoted to public service. He had no expectation of personal gain – service to him meant to give and not get.
Tom knew no subterfuge, always telling it as he saw it. This got him into minor trouble here and there, those are not easy traits for an elected official. His friends forgave him when he spoke out of step, as his decency and honesty always shone through.
He was deeply rooted in positive values of the past, and yet was a wholly forward looking man.
Ocean County lost a good man and a good friend and we are poorer with his passing.
Thank you for sharing this about him.