Howard Scott Wolkow, 52, a member of the Bedminster Board of Education in Somerset County, died Aug. 11 at home.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York, a son of Michael C. Wolkow and the late Annette Lipman Wolkow. He grew up in Long Island and lived in Morris Plains before moving to Bedminster in 2004.
He was a 1991 graduate of Cornell University in New York, earning his bachelor’s degree in environmental science. He served in the Army Reserves and Coast Guard during the early 1990s during the Gulf War.
He was an IT architect employed by Mphasis Corp., headquartered in New York City, for the past eight months. He previously worked in IT at Prudential Life Insurance in Florham Park and Showtime Networks in Manhattan.
He earned the distinction of Eagle Scout and had a lifelong interest in the Boy Scouts. He served as a Scout leader in the local Bedminster Boy Scout pack and served as a commissioner for the Skylands District of the Boy Scouts of America.
He maintained an extensive collection of Legos and Monopoly sets and was interested in Star Trek memorabilia.
Suzie Stevinson, president of the Bedminster Board of Education, said Wolkow’s death was a shock to the community. “He was dedicated to Bedminster School and the education of our children,” she said. “Howard was instrumental in convincing me to run for the board and was always a good sounding board for me. I will definitely miss him, and it will be hard to fill his place as chair of our finance and facilities committee. He was extremely well versed in what we needed, and I will miss his guidance.”
Christy Biedron, also on the Bedminster Board of Education, said, “I recently joined the Bedminster BOE in January 2022, and had the privilege of sitting next to Howard. He was extremely helpful and patient with me as I navigated nuances of my new position, and always kept me laughing. His positive energy was contagious, and his dedication to the children of our district served as a reminder of the importance of the work we do.”
He is predeceased by his mother, Annette Lipman Wolkow, and is survived by his wife of 16 years, Jean Chang Wolkow; his daughter, Abigail Rose Wolkow at home; his father, Michael C. Wolkow of Bedminster; and his brother, Larry Wolkow and his wife, Yoh, of West New York, N.J.
Arrangements were by Layton Funeral Home, Bedminster. Interment was in St. Bernard’s Cemetery, Bernardsville.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Patriots’ Path Council No. 358, 1 Saddle Road, Cedar Knolls, N.J. 07927 to support the Boy Scouts of America.