West Orange Elementary School Grieving For Beloved Teacher

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A beloved teacher in West Orange passed away on Sunday after a two-year battle with cancer, school officials said.

Principal Makeida Estupinan shared a heartfelt message of condolence for Robert Kuczmarski:

“It is with great sadness that I write to you this evening. Our beloved colleague and Physical Education/Health teacher, Mr. Robert Kuczmarski peacefully passed away early this morning in the comfort of his own home with his wife and daughter close by. It has been nearly two years since Mr. K received his diagnosis of Stage IV cancer and now his fight is over. He is no longer in pain.

“I would like to send my sincere gratitude to all of you who sent your love and support to Mr. K and his family through Get Well cards and donations a his meal train. Your thoughtfulness and generosity is very much appreciated and will not be forgotten. Please know that Mr. K and his family were able to feel the comfort of his students and this beautiful community from afar, during such a challenging time.

“As I am sure you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for my staff and me. We are grieving the loss of a member of our work family. Mr. K was well-loved and will be greatly missed. It is surreal for us to understand that he is no longer with us.

“In an effort to help our students understand this tremendous loss to our school community, I humbly request that all parents and guardians help us share this sad news with their child(ren). As you know, this is a delicate topic of conversation for any person of any age. We want to be respectful to all families by waiting for initial conversations to take place at home. Mrs. Donatiello and I will be working closely to develop a plan that will allow time for discussion with the students and their teachers, as well as opening up office hours for counseling. More detailed information about this will be shared with families tomorrow.

“Thank you again for all of your love and support.”

Visitation will take place from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with a service at 1:30 p.m., on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at Silverton Memorial Funeral Home, 2842 Church Road in Toms River.

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