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KINGSTON — Rep. Aaron Kaufer said Wednesday was a sad day — both on a personal level for him and for all of Kingston.
Kaufer was referring to the deaths of Jim Haggerty and Jack Schumacher — both mentors and friends of Kaufer and Kingston Administrator Paul Keating.
“It’s not often that on the same day you lose two people who were more involved in their local communities than Jim Haggerty and Jack Schumacher,” Kaufer said.
District Judge Jim Haggerty, who served as mayor of Kingston for 20 years, died at Roswell Park Cancer Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y., Wednesday at 5:15 p.m. Schumacher had passed earlier that day at 3:15 p.m.
And the day Haggerty and Schumacher passed — within two hours of each other, by the way — was Keating’s 53rd birthday.
“I am reminded of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson dying on the same day,” Kaufer said. “They were political rivals who ran against one another, but eventually became friends.”
Adams and Jefferson died on the same day — July 4, 1826 — 50 years after they adopted the Declaration of Independence. Adams was 90, and Jefferson was 83.
Kaufer, 35, said Haggerty and Schumacher were just as meaningful to Kingston over the past three decades, as Jefferson and Adams were to the country nearly 250 years ago.
“They have both left a lasting mark on our community and they should be remembered as faithful public servants who always put Kingston first,” Kaufer said. “Jim Haggerty helped turn our town’s finances around with the help and support of Paul Keating, and the entire crew of elected officials over the years, including Jack Schumacher.”
In their time in office, Kaufer said Haggerty and Schumacher built a well-run town, including adding a new firehouse, renovating community parks all over the town including the Kingston Pool, and a newly renovated municipal building and police department headquarters by the end of the year.
“None of this would have been possible without the leadership of Jim Haggerty and Jack Schumacher,” Kaufer said.
Then Kaufer added, “Beyond all this, Jack was like a second father to me and served as my campaign chair for all these years. I cannot thank him enough for everything he’s done to help make me the man I am today.”
Haggerty was elected district judge in Kingston and Edwardsville in the 2017 General Election and was reelected to a second six-year term last year.
When he took the oath of office for district judge, Haggerty resigned as mayor of Kingston, a position he held from 1998 until 2017.
Kaufer, whom served as a Junior Council-member when he was 15, said Haggerty was his first “political friend” ever.
“I knew them both for 20-plus years,” Kaufer said of Haggerty and Schumacher.
Keating said Schumacher and Haggerty were truly genuine men who devoted themselves to public service and to the betterment of their community.
“Both men were with Kingston for long periods of time and lots of good things happened as a result of their efforts,” Keating said. “And they were both very passionate about the Hoyt Library and making sure Kingston stayed afloat financially, along with providing the very best services and professional staff possible.”
In the end, Keating said all Haggerty and Schumacher they accomplished much for Kingston.
”I think their proudest moments were to be that they served as Mayor and as a Councilman for the Municipality of Kingston,” Keating said. “On a personal note, it’s the values they instilled in me, the leadership qualities that they instilled in me and how they always stressed the importance of putting others before myself to assure the job was always done the right way.”
As Keating prepares for a future without Haggerty and Schumacher being there to offer advice, he said he hopes all they did, how they did it and all they meant to Kingston will carry on far into the future.
“I hope Jim and Jack are always remembered and respected for all they accomplished as we carry on,” Keating said.
Haggerty’s family announced that friends and family may call from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, March 24, in the Rotunda at the Luzerne County Courthouse, 200 North River St., Wilkes-Barre.
Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.