Asbury Park Press, Courier Post - NJ residents mourn death of former Rep. John Adler...CHERRY HILL — Township residents and officials throughout New Jersey reacted with shock and sorrow Monday to the death of former Rep. John Adler."Today the state of New Jersey and Cherry Hill lost a dedicated public servant," Mayor Bernie Platt said of Adler, who held office at the local, state and federal level over a 24-year career..."

Asbury Park Press, Courier Post - NJ residents mourn death of former Rep. John Adler

11:39 PM, Apr. 4, 2011  

CHERRY HILL — Township residents and officials throughout New Jersey reacted with shock and sorrow Monday to the death of former Rep. John Adler.

"Today the state of New Jersey and Cherry Hill lost a dedicated public servant," Mayor Bernie Platt said of Adler, who held office at the local, state and federal level over a 24-year career.

"There is no doubt that we live in a better place because of John's actions as our representative."

Adler, who lost his bid for a second term in Congress last fall, died Monday of heart disease, his family said. He was 51. He had been at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia for the past three weeks, since undergoing emergency surgery for an infection in tissue around his heart.

Adler, a Democrat, previously served in the state Senate for 17 years, representing the 6th District in Camden County. Before that, he was a member of Cherry Hill's council for four years. He lived in the township's Sienna development with his wife, Shelley, and the couple's four sons.

"Congressman Adler was a fine public servant and a good person," Gov. Chris Christie said in a statement. "His untimely death is an awful shock."

Adler went to Harvard College, then Harvard Law School. He was just 28 and back in New Jersey as a young lawyer when he won a seat on the Township Council in Cherry Hill.

In 1991, he was elected to the state Senate — the only Democrat that year to unseat a Republican incumbent in New Jersey's legislative races. He was re-elected to five terms and continued working as a lawyer.

Township resident Melinda Kane said Adler offered support after her son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane, died in action in Afghanistan in January 2010.

"I didn't feel he was acting as a politician," she said. "He would call me periodically to check in about how I was doing."

Kane, whose husband died 18 months before her son, said Adler knew the impact of the loss because of his own father's early death from heart disease.

A moment of silence was observed in Adler's honor at the Jewish Community Center's annual sports banquet Monday evening.

"It is a tremendous loss to our community," said David Snyder, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Southern New Jersey.

"He and his family were fixtures around the Jewish Community Center and the Maccabi basketball leagues."

A state Senate budget hearing was interrupted Monday afternoon as lawmakers learned of his death.

Sen. Paul Sarlo, the budget committee chairman, called for a moment of silence to honor Adler, who had sat in the same chair for eight years as head of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Kane, the Gold Star mother, said the many accolades for Adler Monday would provide support for the legislator's family.

At the same time, she added, "At the end of the day when you close the door, she (Shelley Adler) goes to bed alone and the kids are without a father. And no one should have to experience that."