Suzanne “Sue” Veitengruber, a past member of the Howell Township Board of Education, died on Jan. 19 of COVID-19, her family said on Facebook.
Ms. Veitengruber was also “a professor, mayor, town councilwoman, township administrator, advocate and advisor but, moreover, she was a wife of 49 years, a dedicated mother who never missed a game, meet or concert and a Gigi that loved and spoiled her 5 grandchildren,” her family wrote on Facebook.
Ms. Veitengruber became Howell’s second female mayor in 1991 after two years on the township council. The only previous woman to preside as mayor was Phyllis Kavett, in 1979.
She served for eight years on the Howell school board. Ms. Veitengruber was also a professor for Rutgers University’s Center for Government Services, where she taught municipal finance courses.
She is survived by her husband, George E. Veitengruber, Jr., her children, George III and Melissa Skrocki, and five grandchildren.
Ms. Veitengruber grew up in Denville, Morris County, and graduated from Morris Catholic High School. She received her bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from Upsala College in 1971. After graduation, she married her childhood sweetheart, George E. Veitengruber, Jr.
She was a member of the Howell Township parent/teacher association (PTA) and vice president of the Monmouth County PTA. She also participated with the township’s municipal transportation committee, planning board, environmental commission, and ordinance review committees. She was the chairperson of the Howell Township Rent Control Board and the Finance Review Committee. Ms. Veitengruber also was the secretary of the Monmouth County Board of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Services and vice chairwoman of the Monmouth County Commission on the Status of Women.
Virtual arrangements are being handled by the Lakewood Funeral Home in Howell.