Obituaries

George Trapp, Former Metuchen BOE Member, Director Of YMCA Dies At 75

Metuchen Mayor Jonathan M Busch said the longtime Metuchen resident "was a true public servant."

METUCHEN, NJ — Longtime Metuchen resident George J. Trapp died Feb. 9 at the age of 75.

Trapp was a former member and president of the Metuchen Board of Education and served as the director and secretary of the YMCA of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge, and South Amboy.

Metuchen mayor Jonathan M Busch said that with Trapp's death, the Borough "lost one of its giants."

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"Anyone who knew George knew how much of himself he gave to the things that mattered to him," Busch said in a Facebook post.

In 2003, Trapp retired as Executive Vice President and Corporate Secretary of New York Life Insurance Company, where he was employed for 30 years, according to his obituary.

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In 2020, he received the Peter J. Barnes, Jr. Community Champion Award by YMCA. He was a Director and former Chairman of the Board of the Center for Great Expectations in Somerset, N.J.

He was chairman of the finance council of St. Francis Cathedral in Metuchen, and led the drive to refurbish the Church’s pipe organ in 2018, according to his obituary.

Trapp was also a former member of the Middlesex Regional Educational Services Commission. In 1982, he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture.

He graduated from Rutgers University in 1970.

"Just a few minutes with George made it clear how much he loved his family and Rutgers athletics, of course. For example, it was not uncommon for George to post a picture of the scoreboard at a Rutgers basketball game on his social media page, but only when they won," Busch said.

"We are so grateful to George Trapp for his service in so many capacities. He was a true public servant and will be greatly missed."

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