AREA— Dr. Marilyn Hart, age 98, and her brother-in-law, Joe Schott, age 102, last month celebrated their joint birthdays — totaling 200 years. Dr. Hart’s husband, David Hart, had the same birthday as his sister, Nancy Hart, who married Mr. Schott. The two couples only had two birthdays between the four of them, so they always celebrated together. David and Nancy have since passed away.
Forty-eight friends and family members held a joint birthday celebration on February 18 at the Lantern Hill retirement community in New Providence. Guests came from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Dr. D. Michael Hart was Master of Ceremonies, and spoke about his mom, Marilyn. Dr. Margaret Schott coordinated the accolades from her four siblings about their father, Joe. Professionally- trained singer Brian Hart, a graduate of Syracuse University School of Performing Arts, led the group in singing “Happy Birthday.”
Dr. Marilyn McGuire Hart was valedictorian of Holy Trinity High School in Westfield, class of 1944, but her parents would not send her to college, because they figured she would just get married and have babies. So, after high school, she worked for the phone company “Ma Bell” as a service representative. She eventually married David Hart, who was a teacher in Westfield, and they settled in Mountainside. After having three children, Marilyn started her college education. She finished her Ph.D. in Education 20 years later. During those two decades, she worked, raised her children, went to night school and volunteered in the community. She became a Full Professor, teaching Educational Psychology at Kean University, and was made Professor Emeritus upon her retirement.
Her volunteer activities included serving as the chair of the March of Dimes, as a Cub Scout Den Mother, with the Girls Softball League, Girl Scouts, and the Mountainside Music Association. Dr. Hart was elected to the Regional High School Board of Education and served for six years, then subsequently ran for the Mountainside Borough Council and served for an additional six years. She was the first woman elected to the council in 150 years, and eventually became the council president.
Dr. Hart advocated for women’s rights, including “equal pay for equal work” in the borough. She and her husband were married for 65 years. In addition to her three children, she has seven grandchildren and six greatgrandchildren. She is proud that her offspring have nine college degrees and six graduate degrees among them.
Mr. Schott is from the “Greatest Generation,” one characterized by a strong work ethic, personal responsibility, humility, commitment to marriage and family, and faith in God and the future. According to his family and friends, these characteristics describe Mr. Schott exactly. He lived through the Great Depression, was stationed overseas (Londonderry) in World War II, attended the same church for more than 60 years, raised five children and was married to his wife, Nancy, for 66 years. He is very optimistic, has a good sense of humor, and is always looking at the bright side of life.
Mr. Schott served in the Navy during World War II, outfitting ships with radar in preparation for the DDay Normandy invasions. He is active in the VFW and served as grand marshal of the 2019 Scotch Plains-Fanwood Memorial Day Parade. His career after the Navy was in research at Bell Labs in Berkeley Heights, where he worked for a time with a Nobel Prize laureate and met three others. During his lifetime, he has done a lot of volunteer work, including 12 years of weekly visits with young boys at Children’s Specialized Hospital, plus being active with the Fanwood Recycling Center, several historical restorations in Fanwood, and as an assistant scoutmaster for the Fanwood Boy Scout troop. One day, while driving down to the Jersey shore, Mr. Schott witnessed a young boy who was about to drown. He stopped the car, swam out, and saved the boy’s life. Mr. Schott received accolades from the Borough of Red Bank for his heroism.
After departing Bell Labs in 1984, Mr. Schott joined a group of retired men that volunteers to help maintain the Boy Scout camps. The Boy Scouts of America have presented him with multiple awards, including Trailblazer, Silver Beaver and Camping Hall of Fame.
