Morris Freeholders Honor Retired Morris County Surrogate John Pecoraro

Published on January 08, 2020

The Morris County Board of Freeholders today honored longtime Morris County Surrogate John Pecoraro, who retired at the end of December.

During a ceremony at the freeholders' work session meeting in Morristown late this afternoon, the retired Surrogate was presented a plaque that featured a special engraving of the Morris County Courthouse.

(JPG, 617KB) (l/r) Freeholders Stephen Shaw and Deborah Smith, John and Rosemary Pecoraro, Freeholders John Krickus and Tom Mastrangelo

Pecoraro, who was joined by his wife Rosemary at the event, served as Surrogate for 25 years, from 1994 through 2019. He initially was appointed to an expiring term as Surrogate in 1994 by Gov. Christie Whitman and then won his first of five elections later that year. He declined to seek re-election last year.

"John has cared strongly about the reputation of his office, stressing a 'Commitment to Excellence,' helping families through probates €“ wills, estates, trusts, and adoptions, handling about 3,000 cases annually," said Freeholder Director Deborah Smith, who presented the plaque to Pecoraro.

"I have been privileged to be able to help people in their time of need, to give them the best service we could at the times they faced crises in their lives,'' said Pecoraro.

Attending the ceremony was new Morris County Surrogate Heather Darling.

Pecoraro, a Mendham resident, is a native of Jersey City who earned a graduate degree in mathematics. Prior to his appointment, he worked for Bell Labs in Whippany on projects such as working with the U.S. Navy to Detect submarines using sonar devices. He is an avid moviegoer and movie historian, and loves political discussion.