Silvia Climent, who became the first-ever Hispanic member of the Weehawken Board of Education when she gained election 21 years ago, died last week after a brief illness. She was 66 years old.
Climent, a native of Cuba, was an active member of the Roosevelt School Parent-Teachers Organization when she first ran for a seat on the Board of Education in 1986. She served for six more terms on the Board, up until her untimely passing last week.
Climent fell ill just three weeks ago and never recovered. She died Sunday at the Hoboken University Medical Center.
“Silvia actually took my seat on the Board of Ed,” Superintendent of Schools Kevin McLellan said. “I’ve known her for more than 25 years. She was such a positive force with our students and always thought of the students first. She made such a major contribution. I’m going to miss her tremendously. She always worried about whether the children were being taken care of properly.”
Served seven terms
Climent served seven terms on the Board of Education, including one term as the president. She also served as the business manager for the Weehawken Housing Department and was a dedicated member of the Woman’s Club of Weehawken.
“Silvia served this community for many years,” Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner said. “She was involved with a lot of children’s programs and was a fixture at Project Graduation. She very rarely missed a school activity. She was a very active woman. She always had the children’s best interests at heart. She was a groundbreaker, because she was the first Hispanic member of the Board of Education and was a fully active member of the community. She will be sorely missed.”
Councilman Robert Zucconi echoed, “Silvia was just a wonderful woman.”
Deputy Mayor Robert Sosa, a close friend, stated that Climent’s addition to the Board of Education in 1986 was “a proud moment.”
“She was the first minority on the Board of Education and the first Hispanic,” Sosa said. “It was something that was desperately needed at the time. We needed to have a Hispanic voice. She was very active and served us very well. I’m very sorry for the loss.”
Climent is survived by a son, Tony Rodriguez, and a daughter, Sylvia Sorrentino, as well as four grandchildren. She also is survived by a sister, Digna Hernandez. Funeral services were held at St. Lawrence Church last Thursday morning.
McLellan said that since Climent’s passing came as quite a shock to the Board of Education, there hasn’t been any movement to find a replacement.
A moment of silence was granted at the Weehawken Township Council meeting in Climent’s memory Wednesday night.
Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at either OGSMAR@aol.com or jhague@hudsonreporter.com