Street Dedicated To Beloved Pastor In Hackettstown

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ — A new street sign in Hackettstown was recently dedicated to Trinity United Methodist Church’s pastor who left his mark on the town, with a segment of East Moore Street from Main Street to Maple Avenue, given as a special honor in his memory.

Drivers will now see a blue sign atop of the Main Street sign, with white crosses flanking Rev. Frank Fowler’s name, that is now called “Rev. Frank Fowler Way.”

Fowler, who died following an illness at the age of 72 on May 21, was known throughout the town not only as a longtime resident, but a cherished husband to wife Karen; father to children Faith, Angela and Christina, as well as stepfather to Savannah and Emily; and friend to many.

“I was approached by a representative of the Trinity Church to ask my feelings in honoring Rev. Fowler for all the good he has done for not only the town's people but people throughout the world,” Mayor Jerry DiMaio told Patch. “It was asked if the town would object to memorializing him by ceremoniously renaming E. Moore Street ‘Rev. Frank Fowler Way.’”

Rev. Fowler was born in nearby Newton in 1948 to Frank Lincoln Fowler Jr. and Grace Elizabeth “Betty” Mitchell Fowler; and was a graduate of Hackettstown High School. He graduated West Virginia Wesleyan College and then from Wesley Theological Seminary in 1973. He received his doctorate from New York University a decade later.

His time in ministry lasted close to five decades, first in Plainfield and next in Newfoundland, before starting at Trinity United Methodist Church in 1983. He was given awards and wrote for religious publications and a weekly column, plus authored a book. He also regularly appeared on a WRNJ radio show, with the station taking part in the sign unveiling.

He and missionaries from the church survived a 7.0 earthquake in 2010 on one of his 18 mission trips to Haiti, a ministry that was close to Fowler’s heart. He also traveled twice to the Dominican Republic for mission trips.

For more about Fowler, see his obituary here.

Read more from WRNJ.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.